A New Frontier
by ruggler354
Summary: After losing at the Sinnoh League, Paul returns back home to Veilstone City with no plan of what to do next. Fortunately, Reggie has a few ideas of his own for him. Set at the end of the Diamond and Pearl saga, and will follow canon, including many characters from the Pokémon anime. May have multi-shipping in later chapters. Complete revamp of old version.
1. A Sibling Strife!

Hello guys and girls. Well, I'm back with a new story this time. Well okay, not completely new. It's a re-write of one of my old stories by the same title. However, I think once you start reading this (which I really hope you do), you'll agree it's almost totally different to the original. It's been given a serious revamp and the plot's been given some serious changes. It's pretty much a new story in almost all respects, and one I intend to finish this time, however long it takes *crosses fingers*. I've got a bet with a really good friend concerning this, one I wanna win :P

Basic story information, this is set about one week after the Sinnoh League ends and starts in that blank period in-between Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors and Black and White (after Ash goes home from the Sinnoh League, but before he goes to Unova to put it simply.) Paul, the main rival from Diamond and Pearl, and to a lesser extent his older brother Reggie, are the main characters here, but many others from the Pokémon anime will get an appearance and a role as the story progresses. This is my story of what happens to Paul following his defeat by Ash. I intend to keep everything canon. All this and anything extra will slowly get revealed as the story progress etc. You get the idea :P.

Well, really hope you like this. Updates will come roughly every week or two weeks. Sometimes maybe quicker than others, and probably at weekends. If anyone is curious about when a update is coming out, feel free to PM. I'm a pretty friendly guy and will always reply. You might even get a joke back too, if you're lucky :P And well, that's it!

Oh, one last thing. While I welcome any and all reviews, any person who finds a genuine mistake in any of my chapters (spelling or grammar mistakes) and puts it in a review will get a special mention in the AN of the next chapter. I'm no professional writer by any stretch and I welcome the chance to improve. That's what reviews are for, right? I have no doubt you'll find a few, so enjoy searching :P. And of course, any person who reviews will always get a reply back before the next chapter goes up, whether it be one person or (God help me) one hundred :P. Guest reviewers will get thanked on the next chapter itself.

Alright, so let's see how this goes eh? :P The first chapter's dedicated to that same good friend mentioned above. You know who you are.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Weavile span and leapt left and right. The dark/ice type looked as if it was in a dance as it performed around the much larger Pokémon, almost looking to any spectators that may be present as if it was trying to entice its opponent into a mistimed attack. Its grass/ground type opponent wasn't taking the bait though. In fact, Torterra had barely moved at all in the battle so far, emotionless despite its double weakness to the various Ice Beams and Ice Shards that had struck it many times over in only the last few minutes.

Seeing such a battling pair was indeed an oddity, especially here. Sneasel wasn't even native to this part of the world, their evolved form even less so. And Torterra was quite a rare Pokémon in its own right. Turtwig had long since fallen to near extinction in the wild, before conservationists had sought to save them, and Professors had introduced the idea of offering them as starter Pokémon in the Sinnoh region for beginning trainers in an attempt to boost their numbers. For such Pokémon to be together in the same place, here, let alone battling, indeed almost sorely indicated to the work of a trainer at some point. For powerful trained Pokémon such as these, probably indicated a skilled trainer.

These Pokémon were no exception.

Finally seeming to grow tired of its non-responsive opponent, Weavile jumped forward at its rival, both its claws glowing with a powerful dark aura, clearly intending to slash the Torterra directly across the face.

CRACK!

A multitude of thorny vines and roots burst from the ground. Weavile screamed as the green vegetation smacked it brutally backwards, sending it flying a good thirty metres into the base of a thick oak tree with such force, it shook many of the autumn leaves free as the creature slowly slid down the trunk to the grassy undergrowth with swirling eyes. Still in its original position, the Torterra gave a low grunt of satisfaction, even as it began to suck in deep breaths to regain its lost energy.

Standing off to one side, leaning almost casually against his brother's wooden two-story house, the trainer of both previously combating Pokémon grimaced, bringing one hand up to rub his forehead. But despite his obviously exasperated appearance, the trainer's narrowed black eyes never left his defeated creature, still laid unconscious next to the tree in his brother's backyard.

He hadn't even expected Weavile to win the battle anyway. Even with its huge advantage in terms of type over his starter, Torterra far outclassed his Johto-born creature in terms of both experience and raw power. The only reason he'd paired them together today was to give Torterra valuable experience battling an opponent that fought in a style alien and completely opposite to its own. Unlike some, he preferred to work his creature's weaknesses, rather than their strengths, and Pokémon such as Weavile would always be a Torterra's greatest weakness. But today, Weavile had barely presented a challenge to his starter. A training session proved pointless.

The trainer narrowed his eyes slightly, his calculating mind falling back into familiar tracks, tracks he's visited more than once over the last week and indeed the last few years.

Weavile had failed to perform for a while now in battle. Was it time? Should he just simply stop trying? It wouldn't be the first time he'd come to this conclusion about a Pokémon in his care, and besides, he'd given the dark type more than enough chances to prove itself by now, having trained it across across two regions. Sometimes, it just wasn't worth the time and effort involved.

But on the other hand, Weavile was a unique creature, one due to its typing and another due to its speed. Finding another like it wouldn't be easy, and it was important to keep Pokémon with varying skills to deal with any and every circumstance in battle.

And there was another reason, though this one less easy to define. A reason brought on by recent events. An uneasy feeling, a small quiet voice that whispered to him from deep within. What if this was another mistake?

No.

Suddenly coming to a decision, the teenager suddenly straightened up, pushing himself from the wooden exterior to stand upright.

"Fall in!"

At the sound of its master's voice, Torterra immediately turned and lumbered towards the sound of the noise as quickly as its four tree-trunk sized legs would allow. It wasn't the only one either.

From all around the meadow, all manner of creatures raced forward, instantly halting their own arduous training and converging at top speed towards the purple-haired teenager. Such was the number and the size of some of the creatures, even the ground seemed to tremble at their approach. On reaching each of their designated spots, the dozens of various monsters ground to a halt and lined up in three solid ranks, all sweating and panting, but now standing as straight and silent as possible. Creatures of vastly different size and build, some with two legs, others with four, some even with none at all. The ones unable to line up on the land due to their body's inability to walk or crawl or fly simply pushed to be as close as possible in the small water pool near the perimeter fence.

The teenager waited silently, eyes now closed and arms now crossed as he listened to the sound of his creatures shuffling into place, listening as the sound of their laboured breathing slowly grew softer, then as all finally fell silent, abruptly snapped his eyes back open and walked forward.

Loose gravel and dirt crunched underneath the young man's feet as he marched down his line of battlers. Torterra gave no reaction as he was passed without a word uttered. He was well used to his trainer's methods and attitude as his starter Pokémon after all.

Electivire barely managed not to flinch as its master approached. Despite once being the star of its trainer's team, it had constantly feared retribution during the past week over its recent failure. But yet again, its trainer simply walked by without a word uttered.

Ursaring timidly growled as the boy suddenly paused before him, trying not to let its pain show in its expression. But the various bruises and cuts were obvious to anyone's eyes. Despite its best efforts, it had been entirely unsuccessful at even scratching its sparring partner of today, Metagross, while the latter had simply spent the last forty minutes battering the Hibernation Pokémon from one side of the clearing to the other. But to the great bear's relief, the teenager resumed his walking a moment later with a simple "hmph." One row back, Metagross uttered a low sneering robotic monotone.

Finally reaching the end of line, the boy paused. Then, almost seeming casual in nature, looked over to the right to the same spot as before. Weavile was still in the same position, laid by the base of the large oak, but had now regained consciousness, and was attempting to return to its feet, albeit clearly struggling, no doubt eager to join the others in formation. The teenager stood stock-still, watching its efforts silently for almost a whole minute, before he, still without any change in expression, slowly reached into his pocket with his left hand and brought out a small red and white sphere no bigger than a golf-ball.

"Vile?"

Weavile suddenly froze, statue-like, its eyes wide and now focused on the sphere. Its trainer wouldn't recall it now, not before the debrief of the morning's training. Not unless it had fallen unconscious and needed medical attention. And even then, more times than not, it would probably have to wait. It couldn't understand why its trainer was now holding its own personal Pokéball in his hand. But a suspicion was forming, a cold knot of dread. A fear Weavile had held onto for the last few months.

Still without any change in expression, still staring back at his dark type, the trainer flicked the centre button, causing the ball to swell to twice its size.

Weavile slowly looked up from the sphere to its master, the fear now clear and transparent in its eyes. The trainer paused again, meeting its gaze for yet another moment, then slowly, agonisingly slowly, adjusted his grip with his left hand so it gripped the bottom half of the capsule, and brought his right hand over to firmly grip the top half.

"Wea-vile!"

Suddenly Weavile began stumbling forward, half walking, half crawling as it clawed desperately towards its master. Its master narrowed his eyes coldly, then began to twist his hands.

"Wea-vile wea!"

Weavile was at his feet now, pawing at his trouser legs, eyes wide and terrified, tears tumbling down both its dusk-coloured cheeks. The boy paused for a moment in his action as he stared down at the creature cowering below him.

"I warned you this would happen."

"Vile vile, wea!"

"You've had enough chances."

"Weavile weavile wea!"

"It's always the same answer with you, isn't it? Well, it's too late. You've had your chance. And if you can't keep up, you get left behind." And with that, the boy took an abrupt step backwards.

This time Weavile didn't follow. The dark/ice type remained in place, kneeling, its entire body trembling, pawing uselessly at the ground as it blabbered senselessly in its species' language, even knowing as it said every plea and apology it could think of, it wouldn't make any difference. Its worse fear had finally come true. And the worst part of it was, it was all its fault. Its trainer said so, it had fallen behind.

The boy stared at it for one long final moment, hands still frozen in place. Then as Weavile brought its eyes up to meet his once again in one last attempt to beg, pleading now silently, he finally changed his expression into one of pure disgust.

"Pathetic."

And with that, the boy abruptly twisted and broke the Pokéball in two.

Weavile screamed in anguish.

"Paul!"

"Huh?"

The boy quickly span around. From round the side of the nearest wooden house, another boy appeared. This one was taller and looked older, although still in his late teens. Paul stared at his approaching brother for a moment, then turned back to look again at the creature kneeling on the grass. Weavile hadn't moved, but was now deathly silent. It remained in place, still kneeling and quivering slightly, its eyes now staring unblinkingly at the grassy ground just to its front.

"Reggie."

Reggie came up to stand beside the teenage trainer, staring from him to Weavile, and to the lines of Pokémon still unmoved locked in ranks to the their home's rear with a bemused expression on his face.

"What on earth is going on back here? This place looks like a war-zone Paul," Reggie said, raising an eyebrow at the upturned earth, the numerous trees smashed into two and the various shallow craters that littered the small meadow.

"Training Reggie. That's what's going on. Or have you forgotten what that entails? I wouldn't be surprised," Paul replied scathingly, still staring at the small kneeling dark-coloured creature. Reggie followed his gaze, a brief look of concern and greater confusion crossing his face as he took in Weavile's appearance for a second time.

"I got that much Paul. But do you have to be so, well, noisy about it? I have work to do, and looking after newly-hatched Kricketune is hard enough without the constant explosions and screaming."

"I thought you were happy I was home, Reggie? Didn't you say so only a few days ago?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Well, if I'm here, then expect me to train. I don't waste my time playing nursemaid."

Reggie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes of course, but it's just so... constant. Why you feel the need to train so hard, day in day out, when the League was only a week and a half ago is beyond me. You know, there is such a thing as too much Paul. Maybe your Pokémon would benefit from a day off every now and ag-"

"You never have a problem when your little girlfriend trains here, yet you won't even let your brother. Why am I not surprised?"

"For one, Maylene doesn't ruin my yard. And two," Reggie sighed, looking exasperated. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Well, can't say I'm disappointed. At least you have the sense to not have such a weak Gym Leader as a girlfriend. And here I thought you were completely illogical. Honestly, it's embarrassing to live in a city represented by such a loser."

"You should really give her the chance of a rematch someday Paul. I think she'd surprise you now," Reggie replied in a slightly strained voice. "But you won't be in a fit state to battle anyone at all if you keep up this harsh training with no breaks."

"It's because of the League that we need to train so hard," Paul interrupted sharply, now turning to face his older brother with a frosty expression. "Forgive me if I don't follow your example, since it didn't grant you much success." Out the corner of his eye, Paul could see his brother suddenly grit his teeth. Reggie was losing patience.

It was the same game they seemed to play every few days. Reggie would come out to complain, Paul would return his complaints with stinging remarks, Reggie would give up and leave him in peace again. It wouldn't be long now before he again gave up and went back inside. Paul had used this tactic of needling Reggie several times already over the last week to get rid of his brother, and it had worked every time so far. It wasn't as if he necessarily disliked Reggie's presence, but the endless complaining and subtle hints were starting to get seriously irksome.

"Look, if you really need to train so hard, then at least try to keep the yard in one piece, yeah?"

But of course, Reggie was slowly becoming harder and harder to get rid of. His brother's resilience was growing at the same rate as the intensity of Paul's sneering remarks it seemed. Paul forced himself to relax, and let the building frustration simmer as Reggie didn't move and simply continued in the same calm voice.

"The house is crawling with all the Pokémon I need to care for, none of them dare come outside any more. Chinchou is still traumatised from what your Sharpedo did to it, and poor Arcanine still bears the scars from fighting over territory with your Houndoom. I don't know what I'm going to tell its trainer when he comes to collect it next week..."

"Tell him if he raised it properly, then it might have escaped unscathed instead of the pathetic mangled heap it ended up in. Since it didn't have the sense to run away the instant my Pokemon looked at it, then it deserved what it got. I wouldn't expect you to know anything about powerful Pokemon, since you waste your time with pathetic babies that will never grow into anything promising, but since for the moment, I'm home, I expect you to stay out of the way and not to interfere!"

Paul paused for a moment to take a breath after his long retort, almost surprised at himself. Something seemed different this time, sudden unexpected anger was already bubbling at the surface, spreading all across his skin like an itchy rash. But no, he couldn't lose his temper. Not here, not with Reggie, even if his brother had a strange way of always irritating him without trying. No, with loss of temper came loss of control. And a loss of control would mean certain defeat. Paul had to remain calm and quick-witted to deal with Reggie successfully, if he ever wanted Reggie to leave him alone again.

"Now if you don't mind," Paul continued in a now even voice . "I'm dealing with something here and I'd appreciate it if you go back to your nursing. Real Pokémon trainers are at work out here," Paul finished with an air of finality. But with another surge of annoyance, Paul realised his brother still hadn't moved an inch.

"Paul, what's up with Weavile?"

"That's none of your business!" Paul replied sharply, putting extra emphasis on the 'none'. "Now, why don't you go and actually do your sorry excuse for a job... just like I'm doing mine?" He felt like snarling now, his patience seemed like a forgotten memory. It felt like his very blood was beginning to boil, but even almost consumed by that feeling, Paul still noticed how Reggie's eyes slowly moved from the Pokémon on the ground to the two broken halves of the Pokéball still held in either of his hands.

"Paul..."

"What do you-" Paul cut off his frustrated reply with a small yelp of surprise as Reggie suddenly grabbed his collar with one hand and ripped him bodily back round to face him again.

"What have you done to Weavile Paul!?"

Silence followed. Paul glared back up into his Reggie's furious eyes for a moment, only inches away, surprise quickly giving way to returning anger. But controlled anger now. Always in control, that was the key. Paul calmly pulled himself from Reggie's grip. Reggie didn't resist his attempts to free himself, but instead took a step forward, forcing Paul to stumble backwards slightly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Paul answered quietly.

"I thought we talked about this! I thought you'd-"

"You thought what?" Paul interrupted, now calm and expressionless. Even the anger was now fading somehow at the sight of his brother's face. It seemed the roles had switched between the pair. Now Paul felt relaxed, while Reggie looked livid. He would win this exchange yet.

"You thought I'd changed?"

"Well, I... yes! I mean, after the League, and everything that happened, I'd hoped you'd finally seen what you're doing, how you're treating your friends. I thought meeting-"

"You thought meeting Ash Ketchum would somehow change me?" Paul interrupted again in a slow mocking tone, almost enjoying his brother's shocked expression now. "You sound just like Cynthia, with her 'when one life meets another' garbage."

"Paul! You can't keep doing this. You can't keep treating your Pokémon like this, you can't just release them every time they make a mistake!"

"If they can't keep up, they get left behind. I won't waste my time with-"

"But, Chimchar. What about Infernape Paul?" Reggie interrupted sharply. "A Pokémon you discarded, which destroyed half your entire team!"

Both fell silent for a moment. Paul gritted his teeth in annoyance, the small enjoyment he had felt for a moment disappearing in an instant. Here it was, it was finally time for this argument. It wasn't unexpected. Part of him was surprised this hadn't come up sooner. He had been expecting this all week after all, ever since the League. This brother had finally brought his biggest weapon to their battle.

This could be difficult. The problem was, it was all the proof Reggie needed to finally prove his age-long argument, that there were other training styles that could potentially rival or even surpass his own. It had been the never-ending argument between them after all, Paul had half been expecting "I was right!" banners upon his return back to their house in Veilstone.

But he could still win this. This didn't have to mean anything. And if he stopped Reggie here, even using this, then Reggie would have nothing else to ever use against him.

"Infernape," Paul finally replied, "is why we need to train harder than ever," the boy finished, looking away back to the lines of creatures still stood in disciplined lines.

Another silence followed. Paul looked away, refusing to meet his brother's eyes, but feeling Reggie's gaze on him. He wouldn't give up that easily, Paul could almost guarantee it. Out of the corner of his eye, Paul watched as Reggie looked from him to the tree line to his front. Weavile was now back on its feet, slowly making its way towards the line of trees which signalled the edge of the forest that started at the meadow's end.

"Take Weavile back Paul."

"What?" Paul looked back at his brother incredulously, both eyebrows rising. He hadn't expected that. A senseless argument sure, but not a straight order. That wasn't usually Reggie's style. Almost now at the edge of the forest, Weavile suddenly paused.

"You heard me. Take it back."

"Why? What's the point?"

"Infernape. That's the point. It seems you haven't learned your lesson Paul. I've tried to be nice, and I'd hoped losing at the League would have shown you what I'm seemingly incapable of, but clearly I was wrong. So looks like I'm going to have to try again. And that starts with you taking your Pokémon back."

Silence followed again. Paul stared his brother straight in the eye, unflinching.

"No. I won't."

"Paul, you take that Pokémon back right now!"

"No."

"I'm not going to sit here and watch you do this again." Paul quickly suppressed the urge to step back again Reggie growled uncharacteristically. His brother had never been one for discipline, but this sudden character change was a little unnerving.

"Three Leagues now I've watched you return back here," Reggie continued, "after losing, watching as you train your Pokémon to near oblivion without any rest, then releasing them as soon as they fail your standards. I will not watch you do the same again now!"

"It's none of your business what I do with my P-"

"You think I'm gonna stand by and watch this? Now, take your Pokémon back Paul. Your losses are not their fault!"

Silence followed again. Paul stared at his brother, careful not to allow the shock to appear on his face as he coolly observed Reggie's heated expression, how his fists clenched. There was only a few times he could remember seeing Reggie like this, and the times he did remember, he could count on one hand. There was a small feeling a trepidation bubbling within now, Paul wasn't even sure exactly what a Reggie with his temper lost would look like.

No. Paul wouldn't allow this. Reggie had no place interfering, no ground to stand on here. Suddenly a part of Paul wanted to start yelling back. The anger was returning with that thought, and it would be a relief in a way to unleash the rage and frustration of the last fortnight upon his brother.

But instead, Paul did nothing.

That was his preferred style after all, in battle or otherwise. Wait, watch your opponent, let them show you their best moves, then when the timing is right, strike their weakness. And here, the weakness wasn't even hard to find.

"And what would you know about it, breeder?" the trainer asked, careful to keep a cool tone as he re-took his step back forward. Paul narrowed his eyes at his brother's outraged expression, waiting carefully, then as Reggie opened his mouth again, struck. "Where are all your Pokémon, eh? You were a trainer once, right? So where are they?"

Reggie faltered slightly. Victory.

"T-That's different."

"Oh really?"

"Yes," Reggie replied, a little firmer now after his initial stutter. "I stopped training, didn't I? I decided to become a breeder, so there was no point them staying with me, when they would be happier with others, others with who they could continue battling. It was better for them, that they left and-"

"So you gave them up too. You lost to the old man, and gave up on them."

"What? I didn't give up on anyone! I didn't abandon them! Not like what you-"

"Hmph." Paul sneered at his brother. "Don't act like it was their choice. At least I don't pretend I'm doing it for my Pokémon's own good."

"I-"

"Talk to me when you're not a total hypocrite, okay? Now I have training to do. Leave me alone." And with that, Paul took one last look at his brother's shocked, speechless face, then strode away. Just like a battle, in a sense. Strike the weakness, and leave your rival to crumble. And with Reggie, it was far too easy. And hopefully after this, he wouldn't bother him for a long time with his one-sided views.

"And I don't know why you're still here either," Paul called across to dark type as he walked back to his lines of creatures, spotting it still lingering by the outskirts of the leafy forest. Weavile gave itself one last miserable look at its once home, its family of sorts, then finally accepting its fate, turned and disappeared into the shadows behind it.

"No, wait Weavile!"

"Spare me," Paul spat without looking backwards. "It's not coming back."

The young trainer returned to the front of his lines of fierce-looking creatures, then spoke out to them in a loud stern voice. "That's what happens to Pokémon on my team who don't make the grade. You don't meet the standards, you don't deserve my time. I don't have time for anyone who can't pull their own-"

"Paul!"

Paul paused. Reggie still wanted to argue? While his brother wasn't completely spineless, he surely had enough brains to figure out this was one battle he couldn't win. Such things were pointless, unless there was a greater agenda. Paul gritted his teeth for a moment, then decided to continue on as if he'd heard nothing. Perhaps if he just ignored him. That tactic had worked too on occasion, once or twice. Reggie would eventually give up, he always did after all.

"-for anyone who can't pull their own weight, or who can't hold their own on the battlefield. That's why-"

"Battle with me, Paul!"

Paul stopped dead, the next words dying in his throat. No, surely not. Reggie did not just ask him for-

"What did you just say?"

"You know exactly what I just said," Reggie replied in a steady voice. The stern look on his face still lingering. "Unless you're afraid to battle with a pathetic breeder Paul..."

Paul looked at his brother with absolute disbelief. "You want to battle me?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Paul stared at his brother for moment longer, then huffed in derision as he turned away again. His brother had lost his mind completely now.

"Don't embarrass yourself Reggie."

"C'mon Paul... Don't tell me you're gonna turn me down. Not after all that talk about how to raise powerful Pokémon correctly. Maybe that's all it was, just talk."

"Maybe I don't want to waste my time on you!" Paul suddenly yelled, causing all his Pokémon to flinch badly. That was it, to hell with it. Something inside had suddenly snapped without warning, and now suddenly Paul was furious. To hell with being calm and collected! The calculating part of his brain, the part most affiliated with battling, was still trying to warn him. With the loss of his temper, he'd lose the upper hand. Reggie was calm now, Paul was struggling to hold onto tiny amount of self-restraint he had left.

But now he didn't care any more. He'd lost the League that had mattered the most, to a trainer just like the one opposite, what the hell was the point in staying calm any more? What did it matter, what did even Reggie matter?

"Always the same thing, and I'm sick of it! 'You should be nicer to your Pokémon', well a lot of good it did you! You still lost! And you think you can judge me? Now, shut up, and leave. Me. Alone!"

"Then here's your chance Paul," Reggie countered smoothly, only infuriating Paul even further. Paul wanted to run, to scream, to even attack... It was almost as if Reggie had known how this was going to play out from the start. He'd fallen right into his brother's trap.

"A chance to shut me up for good. Win, and I swear I'll never question your methods again."

The two brothers stopped for a moment, Paul still glaring, Reggie calmly waiting.

"Fine!"

So what if he was doing what his brother wanted? So what?! This was too good an opportunity to miss. And sometimes in battle, the only way to defeat your opponent was by sometimes beating him at his own game.

Besides, this was Paul's game anyway. He was the only trainer here now after all. Reggie was just some has-been.

Paul twisted to glare at his assembled Pokémon. "Make room!" he snapped.

Immediately, the creatures fanned out, forming themselves into a giant circle, closing themselves around their trainer and his brother. Paul took a few deep breaths, then realising it was doing nothing to combat his now foul mood, simply growled in Reggie's direction. Reggie, to his fury again, simply gave a wide grin back.

"Six on six?"

"Nah," Reggie replied in the same strangely playful tone. He seemed confident, a tiny part of Paul had to begrudgingly admit that much. The Pokémon breeder reached casually into his pocket, pulling out a singular Pokéball.

"Truth is, you may be right about me. I don't really have many Pokémon that can hold their own in battle any more. How about we just keep it simple and make this a one on one?"

"Fine by me," Paul sneered slightly. "I should have figured as much anyway."

"Hey, don't worry about it bro."

"Trust me, I won't," Paul twisted to stare at the creatures surrounding them, eyes searching. If he was going to do this, then he wasn't taking any chances. But it seemed there was no need for any command to be even given. Already Torterra had broken rank, slowly lumbering forward until it stood to its trainer's front. Paul nodded slowly at the sight. Torterra had always known what needed to be done, even without asked. A dependable partner, if one even existed.

Paul turned back to see Reggie smiling at the sight.

"Yeah, I figured Torterra. We always have the closest bond with our starter, wouldn't you agree Paul?"

"Spare me. Torterra has long since proved its worth, otherwise it would have gone the same way as Weavile long ago" Paul answered back sharply. "Now release your choice so we can get this over with."

"If that's what you want Paul." Reggie looked down to the Pokéball in his hand, holding it gently in his hand as one finger slowly caressed its shiny surface to press the button to its front where the red and white halves met. "Time to see if we've still got it buddy," Reggie smiled.

And with a loud "C'mon out!" Reggie tossed his choice forward, where it released its contents in a flash of blinding white light.

Paul ground his teeth again and suddenly clenched both fists, refusing to acknowledge the strange pang in his stomach as the white light took form.

"Infernape," he muttered simply to himself.

The fire type materialised with a loud cry, pounding its chest and the floor with its bony knuckles, before turning back to face its trainer. Reggie gave his creature a happy wave.

"Hey Infernape, how are you feeling?"

"Nape infernape!"

"Aww, me too buddy! C'mere you," Reggie laughed as he took a step forward to give his flaming Pokémon a brief hug. Paul rolled his eyes in annoyance, pushing down a sudden urge to order Torterra to just attack them both in his irritation.

"Hey, since you went with your starter, I only figured it was fitting to go with mine! Is that cool with you Paul?" Reggie called over his Pokémon's shoulder.

"I don't care, so long as you don't spend all day petting it."

Infernape, had to be Infernape. Of course, he should have expected it, knowing Reggie. Infernape was naturally his brother's strongest, but Paul had a feeling Reggie would have sent Infernape out even if it had been his newest capture. Just the sight of Reggie's Infernape was everything Paul had once hoped for Chimchar, remembering seeing his brother's fiery fighter in battle had been what inspired Paul to capture the fire starter in the first place. He'd once hoped to raise it too to its final form, to form it into the powerful creature Reggie's once was and perhaps still is.

Into the the powerful creature Ash Ketchum's Infernape finally became. And Reggie knew that.

"Aww, but Infernape likes it, don't you buddy?"

"Nape," Infernape replied happily as its trainer rubbed the base of its fiery mane.

Paul swore under his breath, then looked to his own creature.

"Don't disappoint me Torterra. I want it crushed," Paul muttered quietly.

"Torr," Torterra murmured back. Paul could see his creature was utterly focused, mirroring its trainer and glaring back at its foe. While Torterra wasn't quite as dispassionate as Paul would like at times, he could tell Torterra found the level of affection still on display distasteful. Which was only right. A Pokémon should have more pride, after all. It shouldn't require constant affection to be strong.

"So, are we all ready?" Reggie asked, finally releasing Infernape and taking a step backwards.

"I've been ready for the last five minutes. Torterra, use-"

"Wait Paul."

Paul snarled again, this time completely audible in his impatience. "What now? I don't have all day!"

Reggie just smiled back.

"We've discussed what will happen if you win. But what do I get if I win?"

"Do you really think that's all that likely?"

"Well, I do have the advantage here..." Paul angrily opened his mouth, but Reggie held up a hand laughing slightly. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you're equipped at fighting disadvantages and I'm just a pathetic breeder that hasn't trained properly in years, I get it already. Just humour me Paul, eh?"

"Fine," Paul replied, slightly disgruntled that his words had been taken from his mouth before he could say them. "What is it you want, should by an impossible chance you defeat me?"

"What I want," Reggie paused, considering, then looked back over to the forest edge. "Well, should I win, you have to take Weavile back for starters."

Paul huffed slightly in derision. "Why bother? Besides, it's long gone now."

"No its not," Reggie replied evenly. "It's in a foreign country, and this is the only place it knows well. I doubt it's gone very far at all, it's probably feeling very confused right now. As for why you should bother, I think I've made my reasons very clear already. And secondly-"

"Secondly?" Paul repeated incredulously.

"Yes, secondly," Reggie paused again, "You have to do me a... a favour."

"A favour?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"That's for you to find out once me and Infernape beat you. Suffice to say, it's nothing bad, in fact, it may be just thing that's needed for all of us."

Paul stared at his brother a moment longer, frustrated. But knowing Reggie, he knew he wouldn't say any more. Paul had now acknowledged the fact he'd lost their verbal battle. Reggie had been clearly planning on this battle from the beginning, why else would he have conveniently had his starter's Pokéball in his pocket after all?

"Fine. But that's two things, and you're only offering one."

"Aww, well, good thing you're so confident about winning eh?" Reggie replied, in a teasing tone now.

"Whatever. Let's just get on with this. You want a referee?"

"Meh, who needs one, right Paul?"

"Fine by me. Torterra, Stone Edge!"

* * *

"Torterra, Stone Edge!"

At his Paul's first command, the Continent Pokémon raised its horned head and roared. And through using mysterious powers known only to Pokémon, two rings of razor-sharp rocks appeared around the grass type, orbiting its entire body for a moment and overlapping, forming an X-like shape to the front of its head. After taking another moment to focus its attack, by a hidden signal from Torterra, all rocks suddenly changed direction, heading towards Infernape at the speed and violence of half a dozen deadly missiles. However, as impressive and as perhaps frightening as such an attack might appear, Reggie couldn't help but grin.

"Parry them away with Mach Punch, Infernape!"

"Nape, Infernape!" With a pair of glowing fists, his fire type swiped at the first incoming rock with its left, smacking it away and behind it into the air, then twisted back and struck away the second into the ground with its right, the third off to one side, the fourth over its left shoulder, hopped over the fifth, then with both fists, obliterated the sixth into dust in mid-air.

"Rock type moves won't have much effect on a fighting type Paul. Weren't those your words once?" Reggie laughed.

Even with the distance between them, Reggie thought he see Paul growl under his breath. The truth was, he was right and Paul knew it. Torterra was probably lacking any effective moves to deal with an creature of Infernape's typing. Of course, there was always the chance Paul had taught his starter something new, but Reggie didn't think so. He'd spent more time than his brother probably suspected over the last week, watching his brother train from afar and wondering how to snap him out of this new yet depressingly familiar state. Usually, it would be solved by sending him off to a new region. But not this time. What had happened at the Sinnoh League was a chance Reggie couldn't miss.

Paul had never been overly-compassionate, it was true. But his old Chimchar, Ash Ketchum's new Infernape, had finally shown him that his training didn't always work, that his way wasn't the only way. Yet, instead of acknowledging this fact, Paul it seemed had chosen to ignore it and continue like before.

So Reggie was left with only one option. Force his brother to face the facts yet again. But he had to be careful. Even with his temper lost, Paul was never one to be underestimated. And Torterra was his strongest Pokémon after all.

"Torterra, Giga Drain!"

"Dodge it pal!" Reggie called.

This time long green luminescent vines shot from the evolved grass creature's back, racing forward in a high arch in an attempt to ensnare his fire type. But with a burst of fresh pride, Reggie watched as Infernape simply hopped, skipped and jumped out of the way, using its hands as often as its feet to escape harm.

It had been a while, years maybe since they'd been in a proper battle together. But Infernape hadn't lost any of its old skill. Reggie could only hope the same could be said for himself.

Paul growled again, then ordered Torterra to repeat the attack. His brother wasn't even making any attempt to hide his frustration any more. His brother was losing it, which was crucial to Reggie's plan. Paul's temper, while sometimes hard to crack, had always been his greatest weakness. An emotionless Paul was almost invincible, an angry Paul made mistakes.

"Did you know an Infernape's ability to dodge attacks effectively depends largely on how much fun they had playing as a Chimchar?" Reggie asked, carefully keeping his voice casual, knowing it would only infuriate his brother even further as he watched his Pokémon continue to 'ape' its way around Torterra's repeated moves without any damage taken. "Yet another example of how being nice to your Pokémon can actually benefit you in the long run, wouldn't you agree?"

"Enough with the niceness garbage!" Yep, Paul had definitely lost it now. Perfect."Just get to the battle already!"

"Fair enough," Reggie grinned. Suddenly Reggie realised he wasn't even pretending to enjoy this. It was no longer a ploy to annoy Paul further. He was actually enjoying this battle now, Reggie couldn't help thinking to himself. To be fair though, it had been a while since he'd had a good battle. Perhaps he missed it more than he thought? Or was he just enjoying needling his brother a bit? To be fair, that wasn't something he got to do all that often, whatever the seriousness of the subject.

"Infernape, it's time to show Paul and Torterra what we can do! Flamethrower, let's go!"

As far as attacks go, there wasn't many as reliable as a good old fashioned Flamethrower, Reggie thought to himself. Highly accurate, above average power and in this case super-effective. And a Pokémon of Torterra's build could hardly dodge it.

"Stone Edge!"

Again, rings of rocks appeared around Torterra. Reggie frowned a bit, confused, but remained silent. Infernape also hesitated for a moment, but a moment later after hearing no further command from its trainer, continued through with its attack. From its mouth, bright orange flames poured forth, concentrated into a narrow jet and shot with great force towards its grass type adversary.

But what followed next surprised them both.

"Change Up!"

As the jet of flames raced closer, around the Continent Pokémon the rocks suddenly broke orbit, but instead of flinging themselves towards Infernape this time, hovered in air just to Torterra's front. Reggie watched, suddenly flabbergasted, his mouth open as the large jet of fire crashed into Torterra's makeshift stone wall with no effect, flames spewing everywhere but on Torterra, leaving nothing but a reddish glow in its wake.

"Woah..."

"Now go!" Paul demanded.

Having now played their defensive role, instantly, the stone wall blasted forward. Caught unprepared, Infernape took the full blast with a surprised howl, sending it sprawling backwards onto its rear.

"Ah, Infernape!" Reggie couldn't help but gasp.

Around the circle of observing Pokémon, a few murmurs of cheer broke out, only to be instantly silenced again as Paul quickly glanced in their various directions. To his front, his Torterra gave a low grunt, almost sounding like a quiet taunt as the fire type as it struggled back to its feet. In reply, Infernape uttered its name a few more times as it finally pushed itself upright, lifting a fist at the grass type as if to say "is that all you've got?".

Reggie observed for a moment longer, then closed his mouth, a slightly relieved smile appearing as he saw his Infernape was relatively unharmed.

"Wow Paul, that was pretty impressive. Using an attack for both attack and defence. And Torterra's ability to control its Stone Edge is as remarkable as ever," Reggie paused for a moment, then his smile grew even wider as another thought occurred to him. "But that move almost reminds me of Ash Ketchum's Counter-Shield technique, wouldn't you agree?"

Paul seemed to scowl a bit at that, but then slowly nodded back.

"I got the basic idea from him, yes," his brother admitted back eventually, albeit at bit sullenly. "I know a good idea when I see one."

"Shame that's all you learned from him it seems," Reggie replied back, resting one hand on his hip.

"Well, I don't seem to be lacking much at the moment do I? I'm winning, with a disadvantage! Pretty pathetic, even for a breeder. I expected more than this, even from you."

"Don't claim your victory just yet Paul," Reggie replied calmly back. His brother was attempting to taunt him back again, but this time the taunts were not having any effect. "We're not done yet, right buddy?"

"Inn-fernape!" Infernape cried, lifting both fists into the air as it sounded off its loudest battle cry yet. Paul's expression turned to one of scorn.

"Oh please."

"So let's try something different this time! Infernape, Flare Blitz!"

Reggie saw a look of sudden shock flicker across his brother's face. No doubt Paul was surprised his Infernape could still command such a powerful move. To his credit though, he didn't panic. Not that Reggie would expect him too exactly, but some trainers might try to intercept the attack with some ill-conceived move of their own. But such a play would be foolish, as Paul undoubtedly knew as Reggie heard him instruct Torterra to 'hold firm'. Infernape was far faster the Torterra, and without a priority move at its disposal, they could not hope to stop the attack. Even a Stone Edge Counter-Shield, if it could be constructed again in time, would more than likely just get smashed apart by the sheer velocity since it was only held together by Torterra's willpower.

The fire on Infernape's mane grew larger and larger until it consumed the fire type. Quickly the flames took over the creature's entire body, then as Infernape gave another battle cry and leapt forward, turned bright blue.

The two Pokémon collided with a huge flash of fire. Torterra groaned in pain as the fire type drove it backwards several feet, but then quickly dug its heels in and pushed back. Reggie couldn't help feeling slightly impressed, while disappointed at the same time. Sure, Torterra were renowned for their high defence, a trait distinctive to a group some affectionately called 'tanks'. But still, after a direct hit from Flare Blitz, he had hoped to see more damage. But then, that only showed how well Torterra had been trained in its various weaknesses by Paul.

"Infernape, increase the power of your flames!"

"Torterra, stay strong!"

"In-in-in-infernape!" Infernape howled briefly as it summoned up even more power, pouring it directly onto Torterra's outer shell. High defence or not, Torterra had to feel that.

"Better do something soon Paul," Reggie warned in a relaxed tone. To be honest though, as far as Reggie could see, there wasn't much Paul could do. Torterra was powerful, sure, but Infernape outclassed it in every way possible. Sometimes there was simply no denying the type advantage. "Although I have to say, it is nice to hear you give your Pokémon some encouragement now and again. I hope that's not just reserved to Torterra."

"You never change, do you?"

Reggie started slightly at his brother's suddenly sneering tone. Across the meadow, over the two contesting creatures, his brother was now glaring at him coldly.

"What?"

"You're just like him, charging straight in. You did exactly what I wanted you to do."

Reggie's eyes widened, looking back at the two creatures centre-field. But it was his Pokémon doing the damage here, not Torterra. Even if Paul had thought of some way of stopping Infernape, Torterra would still be heavily damaged. He'd gained nothing. Reggie raised his confused eyes back to his brother, and saw Paul smirk briefly as they resumed eye-contact.

"Giga Drain!"

"Ah!"

For the third time, luminescent vines shot from Torterra's back. But this time its opponent had no time to dodge. Infernape shrieked in panic as one vine grabbed it round the stomach, another two seizing each paw and forcing them back.

"Infernape no!"

"Inferna-" Infernape choked as the fourth vine wrapped around its neck, cutting off its reply to its trainer mid-cry.

Reggie was in shock. How had he not seen it coming? Had Paul been simply waiting for Infernape to come into range? A cold suspicion began to form in Reggie's chest. Had it all been a trick? The apparent loss of temper, the random attacks, the Counter-Shield? All of it designed to tempt Reggie into ordering Infernape to move in on Torterra where the grass type could trap it in place?

"Paul, wait!"

"It's a battle Reggie. Have you forgotten what that entails?" Paul shouted back. Reggie snapped his gaze back to his brother, intending to reply back, or perhaps even give into an impulse to plead as Infernape squealed again, but his brother cut him off again.

"This is a battle Reggie," Paul continued coldly, speaking above the cries of pain. "You do whatever, whatever, you need to win." At this point, using its vines that still held its rival ensnared, Torterra lifted Infernape into the air. Both the ape's arms were held at right angles to either side of its body, the ones around its stomach and neck still tightly wrapped.

"If that means your Pokemon take a hit, so you can return a bigger one, then so be it."

"In-In-In," Infernape choked. Torterra responded by holding it even tighter in its crucifix position, still draining its energy constantly. Reggie suddenly felt helpless. Everything was going wrong, it wasn't meant to go this way.

"If that means saying the odd word of encouragement, or a threat, to ensure your victory, then so be it."

"But-"

"And if that means sacrificing a weaker member of the team, so the others become even stronger," Paul continued, slowly speaking louder and louder, "then so be it!"

"Paul, please!"

"Do you forfeit?"

Reggie hesitated. The cries of his Pokémon were agonising to hear. But this was his chance to finally show Paul his faults first-hand! If he lost now, he'd only be proving Paul right after all. What had started with Chimchar and the Sinnoh League would all be a waste. And what about Weavile? This could be his only chance to finally get through to his brother! He couldn't lose this!

Reggie stared back at Paul, frozen with indecision, watching as Paul's cold face slowly twisted back to its sneer.

"Figures. My big brother, the breeder, the one who loves to harp on about a trainer and a Pokémon's bond, can't put into practice what he teaches. Your starter's in pain, but you don't want to lose the battle. So, which will it be?"

Reggie looked back to his Infernape. Too far away for Mach Punch. The choke-hold wouldn't allow a Flamethrower. Too far away for Flare Blitz too, even if Infernape still had the energy left to use the powerful move. Perhaps he should give in. He'd failed his one chance. He'd been a fool, the battle he'd been planning since the Sinnoh League was a disaster. Paul was right, perhaps he really was a pathetic bree-

A huge explosion of fire burned through his thoughts.

"INFERNAPE!"

"What the-?" Paul exclaimed.

Still held up in the air, Infernape was utterly engulfed in flames. But Reggie could instantly see this was no successful attempt to just use Flare Blitz or any other elemental attack. Infernape's flickering mane had now grown to over three times its usual size, and its eyes now shone an electrifying red. Amazed, Reggie glanced over to his brother again, just in time to see his mouth form a single word, unheard over the Pokémon's feral cries.

Torterra grunted in pain, even backing up a few steps as Infernape's bodily flames burned straight though its Giga Drain vines, causing it to land back on the field on all fours. Around the edges of the makeshift battlefield, Reggie noticed the Pokémon as one all backed up a few steps. Electivire seemed particularly cautious, moving behind two of its comrades for extra safety.

"So," Paul muttered as Infernape turned its eyes back on him and Torterra, then beat its chest again and screamed. Reggie narrowed his eyes, then grinned fiercely.

"Deja vu, wouldn't you agree Paul?"

Paul muttered something quietly to himself.

"Didn't quite get that Paul. What did you say?" Reggie asked.

"I said, not this time!" Paul suddenly yelled, shocking Reggie and even surprising Infernape into silence from its feral cries.

"Torterra, Frenzy Plant now! Rip up the entire yard!"

* * *

Chaos.

Torterra hadn't held back much. Paul couldn't help but admire the carnage his starter Pokémon's most powerful attack had caused. Trees up-rooted everywhere, dirt-filled craters littered the entire yard from where the thorny roots had burst from the ground. Debris was everywhere. But at least Torterra had had the self-restraint not to destroy the house as well with the attack, Paul noted silently. Control was vital in everything, and none of his Pokémon knew that more than Torterra.

The surrounding creatures had scattered to a safe distance the instant the command was called, as well they should, Paul thought wryly. They had all seen just how powerful his starter could be. The Frenzy Plant that had finished Weavile in one hit had been a mere trifling compared to the destruction wrought here.

To his front, Torterra remained in place. Its breathing was laboured, but that would soon return to normal. The greatest drawback of the attack was the time it took the user to recharge its energy afterwards, leaving it vulnerable to a counter. But since few creatures were capable of surviving such an attack, let alone still being able to attack back afterwards, it was only a small weakness. And true to that, Infernape wasn't even anywhere to be seen.

"Paul?"

Paul looked up from his Pokémon. At the other side of the overturned yard, his brother was climbing back to his feet, coughing loudly.

"Paul... are you freaking kidding me?"

"I don't hold back," Paul replied simply. "If you learn anything today, learn that." The trainer gave one more sweeping glance of the yard. Still no Infernape. Well, it was hardly surprising, an attack of that magnitude might have very well tossed Reggie's Pokémon half-way across Veilstone City.

"We're done here Reggie," Paul continued. "But it looks like you'll be getting what you asked for anyway." Paul looked around him again. "I can't train here any more, this place is a mess."

And with a swift motion for Torterra to follow him, Paul abruptly turned and made to march from the once beautiful meadow.

"Paul!"

"We're done here Reggie. That was your deal," Paul answered without turning.

"No Paul, look..."

Paul growled to himself. Reggie was really pushing his luck today. But still Paul couldn't help but turn back one last time, noticing with some surprise Torterra had made no motion to follow him from the makeshift battleground. Instead, the grass Pokémon's eyes were fixated on a larger than most pile of turf and dirt that seemed to be... shaking?

"No..." Paul whispered. Reggie gave a whoop of pure joy.

"Yes! I knew you could do it! C'mon out Infernape!"

It was impossible! Infernape had managed to activate its special ability Blaze, which meant it had to be on the last verges of its health. And it had taken a direct hit from at least four of Torterra's twelve Frenzy Plant roots, probably more. Even factoring in the ineffectiveness of grass type moves on fire types, there was still no possible way Reggie's Pokémon could have survived. It made no sense. It was as if the final scene of his Sinnoh League was coming back to haunt him.

With a high-pitched cry of determination and anger, the mound of earth burst into the air. There stood Infernape, flames burning brighter than ever, battered beyond endurance, but still standing and screaming again at the top of its lungs.

"Unbelievable Infernape! And Paul!" Reggie called out, causing Paul to turn his shell-shocked gaze on him instead of his impossible Pokémon. "Since you haven't held anything back, I don't think we should either! You agree Napy?"

"Innnn- FERNAPE!"

"But how...? How could it-?"

"Because I believed Infernape could Paul," Reggie replied slowly. With another twinge of shock, Paul noticed his brother's expression had changed yet again. No anger, no enjoyment this time. Now Reggie looked almost sympathetic. It reminded Paul of the times he'd been little and in trouble. His father had always been the disciplinarian, but Reggie had always been sympathetic.

"-And Infernape wanted to win the battle for me, because it cared about me too," Reggie continued.

"But-?"

"No strategy, no sacrificing. No tricks Paul. Just belief in my Pokémon."

He had nothing. Torterra was still recovering from Frenzy Plant. Infernape had activated Blaze, making its fire type moves stronger than ever! Reggie could finish it right now!

"Infernape-"

"Wait..." Paul started.

"Use Blast Burn!"

* * *

Reggie stumbled forward amidst a wreck of burning embers and charred ground, coughing loudly. A thick fog of smoke hung in the air, Reggie rubbed his eyes free of tears as it slowly dissipated, revealing his Pokémon. Infernape sat on its behind at the epicentre of the blackened ground, panting slowly, its bodily flames now flickering dimly.

"Great job Infernape. You really surpassed yourself," Reggie whispered as he crouched down beside the fire type. Infernape gave him a tired smile as Reggie pulled out its Pokéball and withdrew it in a flash of red. "Now comes the hard part," Reggie muttered as he straightened back up, already looking for his opponent.

He hadn't liked ordering it. A Blast Burn powered up by Blaze would have defeated almost any Pokémon of equal level instantly, let alone one with a type disadvantage. Paul might even hate him for it, but if there was just a chance this might work, then it would be worth it in the long run.

Twenty metres away, Torterra lay, flat on earth with all four legs spread out in all four directions, unmoving. All its bodily leaves had been burnt straight off, the tree on its back was still smouldering slightly. Not a part of its body wasn't covered in soot, and its eyes were closed in the usual swirls that usually signified a Pokémon that had lost consciousness. Paul, Reggie noticed with a small surprise, was already knelt next to his fallen starter. His head was hung low, his long purple hair hiding his expression. His hands rested on his knees, still curled into fists.

Reggie watched them both carefully as he slowly walked forward. Torterra would be fine though. Infernape, while it hadn't trained for some time, had always excelled in its self-control. Even at this distance, Reggie could make out the grass-type's breathing, slow and regular. The great creature would probably wake up again in a few minutes, some time at the local Pokémon Centre would have it back to full health in a few days.

"Paul."

Reggie froze mid-step. At the sound of his name, his brother had shot to his feet. Fists now half-raised and utter fury on his face.

"It's okay Paul. Torterra's going to be fine, it just needs a few day's rest."

"You don't know that!" Paul suddenly yelled forcefully. Reggie felt the sudden urge to flinch as the trainer took half a step towards him, but quickly steeled himself against his brother's rage.

"I've been a breeder for quite some time Paul. And despite what your opinion might be, I'm quite good at my job." Reggie took in the grass type's appearance again. "It's unconscious for now, but it will wake up soon enough. The tree on its back won't take long to re-grow, and it should regenerate its all leaves within a week or two once it does. I'd recommend a trip to the Centre to treat any burn damage it might have taken, but it should be back to fighting fitness in no time at all."

Reggie took a step forward, attempting to side-step around Paul so he could check Torterra over more closely, but to his surprise, Paul swiftly stepped in-between and shoved him backwards with both hands, causing him to tumble onto the ground. For the first time, Reggie felt a twinge of fear as he looked up at his younger sibling glowering over him.

"You stay away from us," Paul said in a low dangerous growl.

"Paul," Reggie whispered, watching his younger brother with wide eyes as Paul turned, withdrawing another red and white sphere from his pocket and recalling Torterra back into the safety of its Pokéball.

"Wait, Paul," Reggie uttered more loudly as the trainer began to turn away.

"Paul, listen to me. Torterra's going to be fine. Paul!" Reggie half-yelled as his brother now began to stride away. "Paul, the only reason I did that was to see if you really do care about your Pokémon! And you do, don't you see?" Reggie scrambled back to his feet. "It's okay to admit it Paul! I know you do, deep down, why else would you react like that?"

Paul paused a few steps away. Reggie watched his back intently. His brother for a moment seemed like a living statue, rigid and unmoving. Then the young trainer slowly reached back into his pocket and pulled his starter's Pokéball back out.

Wordlessly, the sphere fell from the boy's fingers to land unopened on the charred grassy floor below. Reggie stared forward in complete shock. The world seemed frozen.

"You're wrong Reggie. I just don't care any more."

Paul began to walk away again, then before Reggie could react, broke into a run, leaving his most faithful defeated creature behind.

Reggie watched as Paul disappeared into the surrounding country at what looked like a full sprint, then after spending a good minute watching the bushes and trees move in the slight breeze, realised Paul wasn't coming back any time soon. Reggie slowly closed his mouth, then ran one hand though his hair, quickly deciding chasing after a furious Paul wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, even if that was what his heart was telling him to do right now.

"Well... I didn't expect that."

"Star!"

From round the corner of the house, a large hawk-like creature flew, closely followed by a shapeless purple goo-like creature. Reggie welcomed both with a tired smile.

"Staraptor, Swalot, what am I going to do with him?" Reggie asked sadly as the flying type landed gently on his shoulder and the poison type by his feet, looking again in the direction in which Paul had disappeared. "I just thought if I could make him see..." Reggie sighed. "Well it's too late now. What's done is done. I think it's best he have some time alone now. He's just angry. Maybe when he comes back, we can finally talk."

"Star!"

"I just feel so helpless you know? I just can't seem to ever get through to him, and Dad won't-"

"Swalot-ot."

"After the League, losing the way he did, I was sure he'd finally understand what he's doing wrong. But it's just the same as ever, even this encouragement he sometimes gives his Pokémon now is only so they will win their battles. He's starting to realise the difference it makes, but he's doing it all for the wrong reasons."

"Star-raptor!"

"That's true too I guess." Reggie sighed. The Pokémon breeder slowly walked forward and picked up Torterra's Pokéball from the ground. "Well anyway, Torterra's gonna need some treatment. And Infernape will sure need some rest too. Jeez, he sure did himself proud with that last attack huh?" Reggie muttered more to himself than his Pokémon as he observed the desecrated meadow again.

"In fact-" Reggie's eyes widened dramatically, "look at the house! C'mon guys we need to put that out right now!" the breeder cried as he ran forward, his two friends in close pursuit, towards his and his brother's and occasionally his father's home where a wooden overhanging from the roof was still crackling away merrily from the last attack.


	2. Released Rampage

Hello guys and girls. Well, chapter two, here we go. And I tell you, this seemed a really hard chapter to write. Anyway, this chapter is mostly about setting the scene for what happens later. An interesting question asked by review last time was if this fic is based on the actual anime or the storyline in my other fics. The answer is the anime. This story is in no way related to any of my other stories.

There's a bit of shipping in this chapter too. Yes, I know I've just said I was keeping to the anime, but I intend to add my own spin to it too. However, I'll never write anything that contradicts the anime directly, and if I ever do, I want a mountain of flames to burn down my inbox :P.

Right, one thing before you start reading. Anyone who re-reads the last chapter may notice there's no longer the starting heading 'Veilstone City'. I was intending to start each chapter or viewpoint with the place names, but now I've decided that's a stupid idea. Feel free to argue if you think I'm wrong! Nothing else (apart from any spelling mistakes pointed out or spotted my myself) from the previous chapter has been altered.

Special thanks go out to reppad98 for giving me a truly incredible amount of help with the writing in this chapter. I tell you, she's one really useful girl. However, any mistakes you spot are MY mistakes, not anyone else's.

Right, if you're a guest reviewer from the previous chapter or someone that's pointed out a mistake, read on. If not, you can skip this part if you like, and get on to the chapter! Please leave a review if you can to let me know what you think of it, I promise I'll get back to you as soon as possible :).

Sakuyachan- Thanks for your review! I'm very grateful you left one, even though you don't speak English. I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic as I continue to post it. If you post a review while signed in, it would be nice, that way I don't have to take up AN space and can instead thank you personally. However, if you want to review as a guest, that is more than okay with me. Thanks again!

Miswake Spotter List of Honour (intentional mistake there, don't flame me!)

*Vondrakenhof

Remember guys, anyone who spots a mistake in this chapter gets a mention in the next. I want to become a better writer guys, and the only way that will happen is if you give me a hard time over any mistakes you see! The plot of this story is all mine obviously, but anything else is fair game! Thanks a lot!

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Paul crashed through the thick undergrowth. Bushes tore apart, branches bent or broke. Wild Starly fluttered in all directions as he ran forward, each breath coming out in a constant throaty gasp. Veilstone City had long since disappeared to his rear, endless trees now ran in all directions. This was the dead-ground to Veilstone's east. To the south west lay Route 214, and the mysterious nicknamed Turnback Cave which had captured the imagination of archaeologists for decades without any success at drawing any closer to its mysterious origins or purpose. Paul knew if he continued in this direction, after a few days he'd eventually hit the sea. However, that was the last thing on his mind. He wasn't trying to find anything. He was trying to lose himself.

The trainer finally came to a halt, his lungs desperately clawing for oxygen, before he fell to his knees in the long thick grass. Sunlight crept through the dense canopy above, lighting a small patch of wild vegetation to his front. Paul stared at a singular flower amongst a congregation of weeds in front of him, reaching upwards towards the sky. How simple it would be, to just live your whole life in the sun, never caring about higher troubles. Never to think, just to exist.

Everything was wrong.

Paul clenched both his fists. Realisation was crashing upon him in great waves. Thoughts he'd held at bay until now, feelings he'd suppressed and buried under arduous training for almost two weeks. Paul fought to keep his mind blank, to stop it from wandering. But in the quiet of the desolate forest, it was impossible. The simple fact was, the question his brother had asked him was the one he had been fighting to ignore ever since the League. Ever since his defeat.

Why was he still training? What for? What was he even fighting for, why was he even still bothering with anything?

Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, none of them had mattered. Not really, looking back. It had all been training, a chance to find and train the strongest Pokémon from each of the three regions so that when he returned to his homeland, to Sinnoh, he'd be ready to take the Championship by storm. His debut in Sinnoh had meant to be a clean sweep. But he had fallen short of his dream. He'd lost the League in which he was meant to win it all. Beaten not even by a superior trainer, but his very opposite.

It had seemed like such a simple plan, back at the age of ten when he received his Turtwig. Travel to Kanto, watch Reggie conquer the Battle Frontier, enter in the Kanto League, then Johto and Hoenn, then return to Sinnoh to take it all. But Reggie had lost. And he had lost too. Not that he'd ever envisioned himself claiming another region's Championship in any of his childhood dreams, but he hadn't even come close to victory in any of the three subsequent Leagues.

There had been reasons for his losses. Poor choices in Pokémon was the most common blame. It was a reasonable excuse after all, for a beginning trainer. It had taken years before Paul gained the necessary experience to learn how to determine a good choice from a bad one.

But not in Sinnoh. He'd entered the Sinnoh League with nothing but the strongest creatures he'd amassed over four years of travelling. He'd used every ounce of experience he'd gained, from travelling with his brother and on his own. Complex battle strategies learnt and perfected from the four corners of each of the four regions. Yet, it hadn't been enough. Paul had been beaten yet again, and this time, no matter which way Paul tried to look at it, there was no excuse. No reason, no easy way out this time. The fault wasn't in his Pokémon. He hadn't been overpowered by a trainer who commanded legendary gods. Such a loss would be reasonable after all. No, he'd lost to a mediocre trainer whose only skill seemed to be his own belief and optimism. Lost to a trainer who was the embodiment of the qualities Paul had scorned for so long.

But then, even he hadn't exactly gotten far either, had he, Paul thought to himself. It wasn't as if Ash had taken the Championship for himself anyway after beating Paul. He'd been crushed too, far more brutally and decisively than Paul had been. Even if Paul could argue his and Ash's match had been so close, that it might have gone either way, there was still the fact that neither of them could have realistically surpassed Ash's semi-final opponent. No matter which way Paul looked at it, his debut victory at his native League had been doomed from the very start.

But that was irrelevant.

Reggie was right. His Pokémon weren't the reason for his loss against Ash Ketchum. The blame wasn't theirs. So that only left one other thing.

Paul pounded one fist into the dirt, feeling his knuckles grind against the fragments of rock and decomposed vegetation. What was he doing wrong? What was the answer?

A twig snapped to his rear.

Paul froze, his mind immediately wiped and focused to a knife-edge. Every sense seemed to be on fire.

The world of Pokémon was not the whimsical place many Professors described to beginning trainers. Maybe in the cities, where the world of humans had brought order. But out here in the wild, off the well-trodden and controlled Routes, it remained exactly that. Wild. Untamed. Trainers and civilians went missing everyday after all, never to be seen again, and Paul was completely alone.

Slowly, very slowly, without turning back, Paul reached back into his pocket. Four Pokéballs, all of them empty. He'd let them all out early for the morning training. Two broken halves. Weavile. For the first time, Paul wondered for a moment where his former creature was. The dark/ice type had departed in the same general direction he'd just ran after all. A few more empty Pokéballs. And a missing sixth capsule. Torterra.

Paul let out a low shallow breath, every nerve and muscle tensed, every sense straining. He'd left his starter behind too. Not that Torterra would have been of much use now, in this particular situation, defeated as it had been by Reggie's Infernape. Silently, Paul cursed his brother. Reggie was the whole reason he was in this mess in the first place. If he hadn't been so determined to prove his point, Paul wouldn't even be here.

But all of it added up to one thing, whether his own fault or someone or something else's. Here he was, miles from home, defenceless, moments away from being mauled to death by an unknown monster stood just behind him.

A bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck. He could actually hear it, breathing slow and regular. Panting behind him, now moving closer. Paul imagined looking at himself through its eyes, still kneeling on the ground. An easy meal. It was probably towering over him, about to pounce. Still Paul didn't move. He didn't want to look, couldn't look. A small childish voice inside was whispering that maybe, if he didn't look, if he didn't open his eyes that were now clenched shut, maybe the creature behind him wouldn't see Paul either. If he didn't do anything, then maybe everything would turn out okay, because if he moved now, now that he could actually feel the creature's breath on his very neck, he would surely die.

Was this it? Was this truly all he was meant to accomplish in his life? Four failed attempts at a Championship, then killed and ripped to shreds by some feral wild Pokémon soon after? No one would even know what had happened to him. Reggie would come searching first, eventually with others too. But what if there was no trace left? Reggie would never know, his father would drift even further away, and their broken family would be down yet another member.

Something snapped within. And suddenly Paul was gone, racing away faster than he'd ever ran in his life. Twigs and branches whipped past his face, but he didn't care. The direction didn't matter, only putting as much distance as possible between himself and that unknown thing behind him did. Every nerve in his body screamed to move faster, to run harder. It was catching, his mind roared. He couldn't outrun it, it was going to catch him and his death, it seemed, was going to be as meaningless as his entire life so far.

* * *

_"And by adding just two tablespoons of cinnamon, you can make this poffin into-"_

Reggie flicked through the channels restlessly. Sat to his right, Staraptor glanced at him, looking obviously irritated.

_"Looking at a stormy couple of weeks ahead folks. Batten down those hatches, because-"_

_"Hearthome City Christmas trees! Half-price and going fast! C'mon down, and put a little heart back into your Christmas-"_

Reggie sighed. It wasn't the television anyway. He couldn't seem to settle, although that was hardly surprising, he thought to himself. It was almost noon, and Paul still hadn't returned. Not that that was particularly worrying, not yet. Paul would have to come back eventually, it was just a matter of waiting him out now.

_"The Wailord travel in herds, and migrate to warmer southern waters for the winter period, often-"_

_"I don't know about you Mary, but I won't eat that Psyduck while it's still quacking! It doesn't matter how much garlic-"_

_"But the protesters refuse to leave until the act is lifted. So who knows what the end result of this will be? Back to you, Sam-"_

"Star!"

Reggie started as his flying type suddenly batted the remote right out of his hand with one wing, sending it spinning across the room where it hit the floor, spilling out batteries. The breeder looked around, eyebrows raising at the sight of Staraptor, along with Infernape and Swalot glaring back at him. Reggie rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oops, sorry guys. Guess I'm a little uneasy, heh."

The former three huffed, then twisted back around to stare towards their front. Reggie shook his head in amusement, silently wondering how Infernape and the others seemed to stay so strong despite the many hours of television they subjected themselves to. Maybe he should start limiting their allowance. But then again, he could hardly blame them for getting bored now and again. It wasn't as if there was much excitement to be had in his Day Care on a day to day basis. Sure, it kept Reggie busy enough, but his old Pokémon were bound to get occasionally restless. He could hardly blame them.

Reggie glanced at the window again, silently debating. Should he send Staraptor out to look for his brother? No, it was too early for anything so drastic. Paul would be fine, and sending out a search party would undoubtedly make him even more angry than he probably was right now.

_"And now, back to our main topic of the morning. There's been quite a major drama developing over at Lily of the Valley Island, where in a shocking move the Sinnoh League top contender has just withdrawn his challenge to the Elite Four-"_

"Huh?"

Reggie turned his attention back to the screen in front of him, where a rather attractive female news anchor with blonde hair was talking from behind a desk in what was clearly a news studio. As he watched, the images changed, showing a slightly less attractive brunette standing outdoors holding a microphone to her mouth. To her rear, Reggie recognised the outline of the Lily of the Valley main stadium, the one in which Reggie had watched Paul battle only two weeks ago.

_"That's right Kate. Only hours ago, we had a statement from Charles Goodshow himself that this year's Sinnoh League victor, Tobias, has just withdrawn his challenge to Elite Four member Aaron Simmons, resulting in the cancellation of their battle that was due to take place early next week."_

The woman was replaced by several images. Reggie found himself watching repeats of the Sinnoh League Finals, as the legendary Pokémon Darkrai demolished a Magmortar with a single Dark Pulse ray, then with a start of recognition, watched as a Pikachu clung onto a Latios for dear life as it flew through the air during a different battle.

_"Quite the story. Any explanation as to the reason behind this extraordinary development?"_

_"Well, no other information has been given to the media. Although sources from within the League tell us that Tobias refused to comment on his withdrawal. Some say he's already left Lily of the Valley Island, and might not be even in Sinnoh anymore."_

The scene shifted back to the studio. Reggie took a breath as the news anchors on screen continued to discuss possible reasons why the most promising victor of the League since Cynthia herself had suddenly decided to just up and quit. Reggie considered the subject himself for a moment, then shook his head again briefly. He had more pressing matters at hand. The Pokémon breeder slowly climbed back to his feet. It was nearly lunchtime. But before he could feed himself, he had to feed those under his care.

At any given time, Reggie could have over a dozen creatures in his care, deposited from travelling trainers or from people unable or unwilling to take them along on holidays. And he had his own Pokémon to care for too, as well as his brother's numerous reserves. So many creatures to care for often kept him busy all round the clock. But lately, free time was becoming even harder to come by. More and more Pokémon were pouring in now the League season was over, and if Reggie was honest with himself, the minor scuffles between the ones under his care and Paul's powerful monsters, and the general overall destruction of his small meadow was something Reggie could have quite happily done without.

"There now, eat up. You need to get your strength back," Reggie kindly instructed the huge Pokémon now occupying almost his entire kitchen floor as he stepped around it towards the sink. The seven hundred pound creature that had taken the space the kitchen table usually occupied, was the only other living thing now in the kitchen, bizarrely making it seem less cluttered since the other creatures in his care had finally dared to venture back outside now the sounds of the morning's fierce training had disappeared.

Paul's other Pokémon still lingered outside uneasily. Out of the kitchen window over the sink, Reggie could just see Ursaring sulking around the back of a far beach tree, with Ninjask and Honchkrow perching quietly above it. Reggie watched for a moment, then as the volume of the television suddenly increased behind him, glanced backwards. His own three Pokémon, Infernape, Swalot and Staraptor remained in the living room, still sat on the carpet and the sofa. Infernape with its opposable thumbs had finally managed to put the batteries back in the remote. Reggie half-smiled to himself. Those three were of the very few that had utterly refused to leave him, despite his insistence for them to move onto others when he'd decided to take up breeding as a profession. Their loyalty and support had helped him through many tough times.

Torterra accepted the offered bowl of homemade Pokéchow silently. The grass type seemed subdued, Reggie noted silently. Not that that was unexpected. It was probably wondering what was going to become of it after its loss. And it wasn't as if Reggie could offer much comfort, because he was as shocked about it as Torterra.

Paul had left Torterra. His starter, this most powerful Pokémon, discarded on the ground. If even Torterra was now considered disposable by Paul, then that didn't look well for the rest of his team, or his prospects in general.

He's just confused, Reggie told himself, still silently. He's just angry and he doesn't know what to do anymore. Reggie could sympathise after all. He'd been in the same situation once himself after all.

"Torr?"

Reggie looked down. Torterra hadn't touched its food, and was staring back up at him with an unspoken question in its eyes. Reggie forced a small smile in return.

"He'll be back soon. Paul just needs a chance to calm down. And when he does, everything will be better. Now, eat your food Torterra."

"Terra," the grass type mumbled quietly, before taking a small mouthful of Pokéchow without any real enthusiasm.

Reggie could only hope he spoke the truth.

The sound of knocking broke through his brooding thoughts. Reggie span around, and edging back round the Continent Pokémon the other way, reopened the front door.

"Hey Reg!"

Reggie blinked in the bright noon sunlight. In front of him, a smiling younger girl with short pink hair and a light fitting tracksuit was standing, alongside her signature partner, the Aura Pokémon Lucario.

"Maylene! How are you? Back for more training already?"

Maylene smiled wider at the welcome, but shook her head. "Well, I was, but Reggie..." Maylene's eyes grew wide as she made a general gesture to her surroundings, "What happened to your yard?"

Reggie chuckled. "Well, to use my brother's words, it was just 'training'."

Maylene smile slowly disappeared. "Oh. Right. I should have figured this would be Paul again. He's still giving you trouble?" Maylene looked past him into the kitchen behind. "Wait, is that Torterra?"

"Yeah..." Reggie trailed off for a moment as he followed her gaze. "That's Paul's Torterra."

"What happened to it?"

"Well, it-," Reggie stopped, suddenly realising something. "Oh, I'm sorry Maylene. Here I am, leaving you to stand on my porch. Come on in."

Maylene laughed lightly as Reggie stood quickly to one side to let her past, brushing one hand along his shoulder as she walked past him. "Don't worry about it. I can tell it's been another stressful day. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I've had to wait on your porch, eh?" the gym leader teased. Reggie flushed slightly.

"Yeah, and we need to be more careful. Paul's already getting suspicious."

"You know, maybe we should just tell him about us," Maylene replied as she carefully stepped around Torterra to sit on a small wooden chair by the sink in the corner. "I mean, he's going to find out sooner or later."

Reggie sighed as he closed the front door. "I know, and believe me Maylene, I want to tell him. But with all the drama with the League, I just don't think it's the right time."

Reggie turned to the other side of the room where Lucario was now standing idly in one corner, looking bored at the continuing conversation. "Lucario, welcome to you too," Reggie added with a small bow. "If you like, Infernape and the others are in the living room. You're welcome to join them if you wish. Also, there's plenty of Pokéchow if you're hungry."

Lucario inclined its head back towards Reggie, then after holding up a paw in refusal to the offered food, hopped over one of Torterra's legs to walk into the living room. Faintly, Reggie heard his Infernape call out a welcome. Those two had always got on well, although fiercely competitive the odd times Reggie and Maylene had pitted them against each other in a practice battle.

"I think he likes you," Maylene said in a pleased tone. "You're always so polite to him, some people, even trainers sometimes tend to act like he's invisible or something."

"Pokémon always like being treated as equals," Reggie answered back as he knelt down to inspect one of Torterra's burnt branches that had suddenly caught his eye. "And your Lucario is a proud Pokémon, rightly so."

"Now if only I could get Paul to approve of me, like Lucario does with you, we'd be all set, heh?"

Reggie looked back up. Maylene was still smiling, but the slight worrying tone to her voice had been impossible to disguise. She had never been good at hiding her inner feelings. Reggie supposed that came with being a fighting type specialist. She had to be passionate and completely open to inspire her Pokémon's combat orientated personalities.

"Mayls." Reggie considered for a moment, then slowly stood up and walked around Torterra to her, half crouching down so he could put one arm around her shoulders more easily. Reggie smiled faintly as he felt the slight gym leader slowly lean sideways into him. "I've told you a million times, I don't care what Paul thinks about you."

"But I do," Maylene whispered back. "You know what he thinks of me, he thinks I'm pathetic. And I don't see how this can work with him thinking that..."

"Paul has nothing to do with us. He can think what he likes Mayls, doesn't change how I feel," Reggie replied sharply, holding his girlfriend a little tighter. It still surprised him how someone who could be so fierce and powerful on the battlefield could also be so insecure at times. "Besides, one of these days he's gonna see you battle again and realise just how wrong he was."

"Thank you Dawn and Ash," Maylene muttered back in an amused tone. "And I know that Reggie. I know." To Reggie's relief, he felt Maylene take hold of his hand that was draped over her shoulder and give it a quick squeeze in reply. "I know you don't care, but I do. I can't help it, I want him to like me, and your Dad too, if I ever get to actually meet him. It's important to me Reggie. And I know it's important to you too."

Reggie silently continued to hold Maylene tightly as he pondered her words. In an ideal world, yes it would be nice to have his family present and happy with his choice of girlfriend, but Reggie had long acknowledged his family was far from ideal.

"And besides, didn't you say your Dad was working in Sinnoh at the moment?" Maylene continued, shifting her head slightly so she could look sideways at him. "Maybe there's a chance we could get to see him?" she finished in a hopeful voice.

"Yeah, he is. As far as I know he's still in Snowpoint City, still working on the restoration of the Snowpoint temple." Reggie sighed. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up about seeing him soon. Even I haven't seen him in person since he battled Paul months ago, and I haven't even heard anything from him for a while now. It's obviously taking some time to complete the restoration. I was expecting, or rather hoping for him to be finished by now. Although that's assuming he's hasn't actually already finished and just gone back to Kanto without telling me."

"Your Dad wouldn't do that, would he?" Maylene asked, sounding surprised. "Surely he'd call by to see his own two sons before he left the region."

"I hope so too, although Dad has never been the type to just call round for Sunday lunch." Reggie replied a little sadly. "At least, not for a long time anyway. But yeah, I am still hoping he'll drop by, or at least call us before leaving again."

"But then again, he's been so long already, maybe he won't have time to stop long anyway by the time he finishes," Maylene replied, sounding thoughtful. "I mean, won't he be in trouble back in Kanto for being away for such a long time?" Maylene shifted her shoulders slightly as she finished her question. Reggie took this as a silent signal that he could now remove his arm from around her back, and instead turned to the sink next to her so he could begin preparing more of his home-made Pokéchow for all the other Pokémon outside.

"I mean, your Dad's a Frontier Brain. How is he able to stay in Sinnoh for so long? I know the Kanto Battle Frontier is a prodigious challenge only open to a hand-picked few, but surely he must have challengers waiting for him."

"He does," Reggie tiredly replied as he heaped Pokémon meals one after the other into plastic bowls. "I've had Scott ring up here three times already over the last week, looking for him. Frankly, those calls are the only reason I know he must still be at Snowpoint. Apparently Dad can't be reached at the moment. Scott's the owner of the Battle Frontier," Reggie added quickly in response to Maylene's confused expression. "For all intents and purposes, Dad's boss. And judging from our last conversation, he's not happy. And if you knew Scott, you'd know it takes a lot for him to be not happy."

"Oh no. Well, I might sound little drastic, but do you think maybe you should go to Snowpoint yourself and see what's happening with your Dad in person? I mean, if it sounds like his job is in danger and you can't call him..." Maylene pondered for a moment. "Maybe I could try ringing Candice. I don't have her number personally, but I'm sure the League database will have it somewhere."

"That thought's already crossed my mind Maylene, trust me. I was actually already thinking along those same lines myself. But the problem is it's the busy season for me right now, with the League being over, everyone seems to put their Pokémon into Day Care for a holiday, although whether that's a holiday for the Pokémon or the trainers, I don't know," Reggie replied with a slight laugh. "To be honest, I was half-hoping Paul would go in my place..."

Reggie stared wistfully out of the window again at the far tree-line. "He did mention a desire to go and challenge Dad to a rematch straight after he arrived here. But I'm not sure if that's a good idea anymore. Apart from everything else that's happened between us and Dad, he's not strong enough to beat Dad yet, and another loss might just drive him over the edge completely."

"And I suppose that's why he's training his Pokémon so hard," Maylene replied with an sharp edge to her voice as she looked down at Torterra's various scorch marks and charred branches once more, now covered with Reggie's bandages and burn cream. "I know he's your brother Reggie, and I don't like to say it, but really, someone needs to take him down a peg or two. You'd think losing at the League would have made him wake up a little." Reggie chuckled quietly at Maylene's angry expression.

"Seems I have to get my girlfriend to approve of my brother, as well as get my brother to approve of my girlfriend." Maylene's eyes widened at his response.

"Reggie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Reggie held up a hand.

"It's fine. I've heard it all before, and besides, you're right. But before you go blaming Paul for the condition of Torterra, there's something you should know." As Maylene raised one eyebrow back, Reggie lowered his head sheepishly. "This time it's kinda my fault."

"W-what?"

"I challenged Paul to a battle. And it kinda got out of hand. Hence the state of the yard, heh."

"You challenged Paul to a battle..." Reggie watched as his girlfriend took a breath, clearly processing this new information. "But why? I thought you didn't like to battle any more? I mean, I know you've helped me train from time to time, but everyone can see now you're really a breeder at heart. I think it was a surprise to everyone when you first announced it, but after seeing how hard you've worked here, most people have accepted that's just who you are now."

"But Paul hasn't," Reggie interrupted. "I think- I know Paul still looks down on me because I gave up being a trainer. He doesn't respect me anymore, and won't listen to me as a breeder, so I had to prove my point as a battler."

"Your point?"

"Yeah. That his way of training is the reason he keeps losing when the stakes get high."

Maylene paused again, clearly thinking. Reggie finished off the last bowl of Pokéchow, then piling as many as he could high in his arms, proceeded out to the porch outside to line them out in one long row. The wooden decking creaked behind him as he listened to the sound of the gym leader following him outside.

"So... Judging by the state of Torterra then, I assume you won?"

"Yeah..." Reggie half-smiled, half-grimaced. "Although I have yet to see if that's a good thing. Paul ran off into the woods after he lost."

"He r-ran off?" Maylene sputtered. The gym leader looked up to the far tree-line herself. "I hope he doesn't get himself into trouble. These woods can be dangerous."

"Yeah, I know," Reggie replied in a slightly strained voice. "But he ran off before I had a chance to stop him. I think he'll be okay, he just needs the chance to cool off a little. If he's gone for another hour, I might consider sending Staraptor to look for him. Come an' get it, guys!" Reggie yelled across the ruined yard, before straightening back up.

All manner of creatures raced and flew forward, ceasing their various playful activities immediately in favour of freshly-made food, each chirping their thanks as they arrived beside their own bowl. Paul's Pokémon, Reggie noticed, clustered to one end of the line. Usually Reggie would have trouble getting them to even eat with the other Pokémon, of which they seemed to consider generally unworthy of being near. But today they seemed subdued, content to eat alongside without disturbing anyone else.

Reggie felt Maylene rest one hand on his arm. "So, how was it?"

"How was what?"

"Battling Paul?" Maylene seemed hesitant. "I mean, was it a complete nightmare? Or did you enjoy it?"

"Did I enjoy it?" Reggie repeated, confused. Maylene slowly tugged on his arm, forcing the breeder to make eye-contact.

"Don't get me wrong Reggie. You're a great breeder, and you've really helped me at times with how to care for each of my Pokémon's needs. I just wondered, because you always seem to get right into it whenever you help me train. Do you ever miss battling at all?"

Reggie stared back, now surprised. It was like Maylene was repeating his very thoughts from the battle that morning. Even though they'd only been officially together for just over two months now, it seemed Maylene already knew him inside and out.

Although they had known each other for a lot longer before, Reggie thought to himself wryly. Maylene had been there in person when Reggie had first announced he was leaving his life as a trainer behind him and setting up a breeder Day Care in his home town. And it was her who had helped him get started in those first few difficult months. Now hearing Reggie was battling, it was only natural, he supposed, for her to be curious.

"Well, you may have a point there... I can't help but enjoy the occasional battle. But I made my decision a long time ago now, and I don't intend changing it any time soon," he replied firmly with a slight smile. To his relief, Maylene gave a small nod back, obviously taking the hint and dropping the subject, which would have been too confusing for Reggie to put into words anyway.

"Okay. But then, why battle him in the first place?"

Reggie sighed, the old feelings of exasperation and worry resurfacing as he looked back at his girlfriend's concerned face. "I don't know. I thought maybe, if I just could make him see his faults first-hand again, this time it would make him change. I guess I was pretty naive."

"It's not your fault Reggie," Maylene muttered, removing the hand from his arm and instead wrapping him around the waist with it as she returned the gesture from earlier.

"I'm his brother Mayls. And I can't seem to help him," Reggie quietly replied. Maylene responded by squeezing him tighter. "He's getting even worse."

"You think he cares about his Pokémon at all?"

"He left his starter here after the battle, and ran off into the woods alone without a care. What do you think that tells you?"

"Maybe he just left Torterra here because he knew you would look after it for him. Maybe he just needs time to think about things. Maybe when he comes back, he'll be a bit different."

"That's a lot of 'maybe's." Reggie chuckled in spite of himself. "When did you suddenly start caring about my brother so much?"

"I care about you Reggie," Maylene whispered back.

Reggie stood there for a moment, watching all the Pokémon begin to finish up their meals.

"That's why I've decided I need help."

"Huh?"

"With Paul. I've tried again and again, and clearly, I seem can't get through to him. And judging from the last fortnight, obviously nothing that happened at the Sinnoh League has gotten though to him either, or if it did, he's choosing to ignore it."

"Well, if I can-" Maylene started, but Reggie cut her off.

"No, you can't. I know you want to help, and I appreciate it, but what Paul needs is family. And with Mom gone, there's only one person left."

"Your Dad?" Maylene asked, sounding surprised. "But I thought you just said you couldn't get hold of him?"

Reggie shook his head.

"I did. If even Scott can't get through to him, then I doubt I can. As I said, I was going to send Paul to him, but I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore. Those two will inevitably end up battling as soon as they meet, Paul will lose again, especially if Dad overpowers him with all three of his Regi legendaries again, and we'll be right back at square one. Although the last message I got from him when I left Lake Acuity months ago did mention something about a problem with his legendaries..." Reggie paused for a moment, pondering. "Well, regardless, I've got a different idea for Paul in the meantime. But while he's doing that, I'm going to go in his place."

"Wait, what? You're going to Snowpoint City? I thought you just said-?"

"I know I said I was busy, but it's looking more and more like I might not have a choice. Regardless of the Day Care, if Dad's job's in danger and if he isn't aware of it, then I need to go see him. I make a low enough wage as it is, I can't support Paul alone if Dad loses his Frontier Brain position, and out of the two, Dad keeping his job is far more important than me maintaining my reputation for the good of this family. Maybe I can even help speed things up and send him back to Kanto sooner if I'm there with him." Reggie extracted himself from his girlfriend's grip and leaned against the door frame of his house tiredly. "Of course, that'll mean sending back all the Pokémon in my care at the moment. There's no way I can leave them on their own. I'm not going to be very popular with a lot of trainers for doing this, but looks like I have no other option."

"Yes, you do Reggie! I can take care of things here while you're gone!"

Reggie blinked in surprise. "Maylene, it's a lot of work. I don't think you'll-"

"Oh, c'mon. I don't have any challengers now the season is over, I've been bored stupid lately. Why else do you think I keep coming around?" Maylene replied with a playful wink, causing Reggie to blush lightly again. "And after helping you out so many times here, I think I know my way around your kitchen. I can handle this, it's a family emergency after all! I want to help!"

"Well, I wouldn't be gone too long I guess," Reggie mused. "I could fly Staraptor as far as Coronet, then hike the rest of the way with Infernape once the weather gets too bad. But even under the best of circumstances, it would take about a week to get there from here. Then seeing Dad, then a week back..."

"I'll be fine. You act like I've never looked after Pokémon before," Maylene replied, laughing slightly. "There's a whole gym of fighting types down the road you know. Baby Kricketune will be a clinch after that."

"That's what you think..." Reggie chuckled. "But really, I don't really want to put you to any trouble Maylene, it's a big inconvenience after all."

Maylene shook her head, then moved slightly closer. "What else are girlfriends for?" the gym leader asked, suddenly surprising Reggie with a quick kiss to his lips. Reggie felt himself blush scarlet this time as Maylene grinned at him shyly. "Besides, I'm sure there are other ways you can make it up to me, huh?"

"I..." Reggie stuttered. Before he could react, Maylene quickly leaned up to take a second peck, then pointed down to the floor.

"Look Reggie, the Pokémon are nearly all finished. Looks like I'm helping already."

Reggie rolled his eyes, unable to stop smiling to himself as he looked around him. "Wow, they sure eat fast."

"You must be a good cook. Another reason I keep coming around," Maylene teased.

* * *

Paul slid to a halt, throwing up a hand against the suddenly blinding sun. He'd finally come to the end of the trees. To his front lay a giant ravine, over a hundred metres wide. To the bottom, down a huge cliff, water ran fast and powerful, forming a deep river. Paul gritted his teeth, then span back to stare behind him.

Nothing.

Paul waited on tenterhooks, balanced on the balls of his feet, fists clenched, waiting for the attack to come. But other than the sound of rushing water below, all was silent. Had he left his pursuer behind? Or was it waiting, just a few metres away, still hidden in the shadow of the leafy canopy? Binding its time, now it could see its prey was obviously trapped with a fatal drop to his rear.

Paul waited, listening to the sounds of the trees rustling, watching as the slight northerly breeze picked up the dead grass and the leaves and sent them hurtling down behind him. He could smell the salt on the air. The coast was just over the far solitary mountains to his rear. Further in that direction, after a short gap of water, lay Lily of the Valley Island. Paul shook his head furiously. Just the thought of that place was enough to bring the memories rushing back, memories he'd temperately forgotten in light of his recent peril. But no, it wasn't time yet to think about that, if ever. He had to focus on the moment.

But still nothing. And as much as Paul wanted to stay on high alert, he could feel himself slowly relaxing. Maybe he had lost whatever it was in the forest. Maybe he had outran it, or it had lost interest in him. Or maybe, maybe it had been nothing but his imagination to begin with. After all, there had been a lot on his mind lately, and his usual sleep patterns had been pretty much non-existent. Would it be any surprise if his mind was starting to play the odd trick on him?

A flash of movement.

Paul gasped as a blur of reddish darkness crashed into his chest, forcing all the air out of his lungs. He staggered backwards. One step. Two steps. Then a third. And then...

Falling.

Down, over the cliff edge. Down into the ravine. Down into the fast moving river with a huge splash of white.

* * *

"Well, that's the last of them," Reggie said cheerfully, as he picked up the final bowl, now empty and licked clean of Pokéchow.

Maylene hummed a reply. Reggie could see her at the edge of his vision eyeing him carefully. Reggie smiled to himself.

"Reggie?"

"Hm?"

"So, I don't get it. How will Paul battling Brandon help bring your family back together?"

Reggie carefully balanced the pile of bowls, then silently carried them back into the kitchen. It was lucky he had so many feeding bowls stored in the house's basement. He'd never had so many Pokémon in his care before, and asking Pokémon that often weren't familiar with each other to share was something that was never a good idea. Of course though, the downside of that tactic meant more washing up. Reggie deposited the pile in his hands by the sink, then turned to take an almost equally large pile from Maylene behind him. The gym leader had an uneasy expression on her face, as if unsure whether she had stepped over some invisible line.

"I mean, I was just curious. Sorry if it bothers you. To be honest, I feel like I've pried into your family business a little too much today as it is, heh heh."

Reggie rolled his eyes, smiling again as he gave Maylene a little shove in response, the latter responding with a playful "Hey!"

"I don't mind you asking questions Mayls. But it is pretty complicated."

"Well," Maylene slowly replied, still sounding careful, "I'm in no rush. Unless Lucario starts getting bored of a little daytime television," she finished with a small laugh. Reggie laughed lightly back, then proceeded to fill the sink with hot water. Maylene took a place beside him, a dry cloth at the ready without even being asked.

"Well, I guess it would pass the time while I get all this done," Reggie replied casually. "Although..." Reggie glanced at the clock on the wall above his head, then back out the window. It was afternoon now, and since it was already late Autumn, it would get dark soon... "Staraptor!" Reggie called.

Instantly, the hawk-like Pokémon fluttered through the living room door into the kitchen and came to a rest on his shoulder. From around the living room door frame, Reggie saw Infernape poke his head round , followed shortly by Swalot, both obviously interested as to why their comrade had been summoned. Lucario however, simply walked purposely past both, back into the kitchen to stand by the still-resting Torterra, completely open in its curiosity.

"Staraptor," Reggie spoke quietly. "Paul's been gone for a while, and it'll get dark soon. Can you do me a favour and go look for him? You saw which direction he headed. Lead him back if he's lost, although don't expect many thanks afterwards if you need to do that."

"Staraptor!" The flying type cawed its agreement, then took off back through the open door.

"Guess it will be getting dark soon." Reggie turned back to see Maylene looking out of the same window he'd looked only moments ago. "I hope he's okay. Even if sometimes he can be a real, well..."

"Jerk," Reggie finished for her. Maylene grinned sheepishly, then joined Reggie as he laughed for a moment. "But I'm sure he'll be fine," the breeder continued. "Paul would be the first to tell you he can look after himself perfectly fine."

"Rrragh."

Reggie turned with Maylene at the sound of the noise. Lucario was gesturing to himself, then to the front door.

"You want to help too Lucario?" Maylene asked with a confused expression. "You want to help find Paul?"

"Rragh!"

"Wow, didn't think Lucario would care so much about my little bro," Reggie muttered.

"I think Lucario wants to help you find Paul, rather than just find Paul," Maylene replied with a smile. "Is that right Lucario?"

"Rragh rraagh!" the fighting type replied, this time pointing more insistently at the doorway. Maylene nodded back.

"Well, Lucario would be useful in a search. It's ability to sense other people's Aura would help it track down Paul pretty fast." Maylene nodded again, this time with a look of determination suddenly appearing on her face. "And you're not going alone either."

"Maylene?" Reggie uttered in surprise as the gym leader dropped the dish cloth on the side and suddenly dashed out of the front door with her Pokémon it hot pursuit. "Maylene!" Reggie yelled as he chased after her to the door. "Maylene wait! What are you doing?"

"Trying to gain your brother's approval," Maylene yelled back with a laugh over her shoulder as she sprinted across the over-turned yard toward the nearest line of trees, Lucario already pulling ahead of her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

"Ah," Reggie growled as she disappeared from sight between two thick tree trunks. The Pokémon breeder felt a paw on his leg. Reggie glanced down, meeting Infernape's worried eyes.

"I can't buddy. I can't just leave all these Pokémon here alone." Reggie gritted his teeth, then looked back to the tree-line.

"Infer?"

"No, I don't want you going out there either. You still haven't fully regained your strength from earlier."

"Maylene will be fine," Reggie told his Pokémon, and himself. "She has Lucario, and Staraptor's out there somewhere too."

"Nape."

"More than likely, Paul's fine too. He's just lost, or taking his time with his sulking. He'll be back here complaining in no time."

"Infernape."

Reggie nodded to himself, his grip tightening slightly on the wooden door frame.

"They'll both be fine."

* * *

Water. Water everywhere. Paul wasn't even sure which way was up or down. His world was a mess of murky darkness, but he could feel himself moving. Rushing along with the water around him, skimming past rocks and branches in the nothingness. His lungs were screaming. Paul had to take a breath, he had to open his mouth. But where was the air?

But did it matter? There was nothing left after all, no reason to even try to find the surface anymore.

Images flashed through his head. Paul had heard somewhere that before you die, your whole life was supposed to flash before your eyes. But rather than his whole life, he was just getting fragments. Random images in no particular order. Reggie. Battling his father. His Turtwig evolving. Infernape destroying his Aggron with a lightning-fast punch to the head. Ash Ketchum. His mother.

A sudden well of strength awoke within him. And at that moment, he changed direction.

Something was pulling him against the flow of the river now, back towards the surface. With a gasp of air, Paul broke the surface and fell onto solid ground. He was alive.

Keep control, Paul told himself furiously as his lungs gratefully seized the air around him. Don't break down, you've dealt with worse than this.

The trainer coughed violently, water streaming from his hair and face to the sandy pebbly ground between his hands. He wasn't even sure if it was water from the river or his own tears.

What had saved him? Or who? Paul slowly looked left, then right, peering through his sodden purple hair. The river twisted away several hundred metres in both directions, before curves in the cliff banks hid it from view. The water was fast and torrential. Spray flew into the air constantly and Paul could only wonder how he'd managed to mostly avoid the dozens of jagged rocks that broke its silver-looking surface. The Pokémon trainer slowly twisted from all fours to sit on his side, squinting up at the bright sun, then slowly lowered his gaze.

Then he saw it. Perched half-way up the cliff side on his side of the water. Trapping him with the river to his rear, just like it had done a hundred metres above him.

Weavile.

Paul locked eyes with the dark type, not moving a muscle. Weavile did the same. Its face showed no hint of an emotion. His former creature was half-crouched on a ledge protruding from the bare cliff face. Almost looking as if it was about to pounce.

Although Paul's body remained rigid, his mind was racing a hundred miles per hour. Weavile? Was Weavile the one who had been chasing him through the forest? For some reason, Paul felt a wave of relief wash over him. His panicking mind been envisioning a huge monster, with many claws and sharp teeth. Weavile in comparison to that seemed harmless. But then, if it had been Weavile chasing him, that would mean- Paul let out a slow exhale- Weavile had been the one that had knocked him from the ravine edge above. His former Pokémon had just knocked him into what could have easily been a fatal fall.

Was Weavile capable of such an act? Certainly Paul had trained it to the best of his ability to be utterly merciless on the battlefield, but this was something else. During his care, Weavile had been a show-off, always going beyond what was necessary in order to impress, rather than just concentrating on just completing the job at hand. In another life, Weavile might have made a coordinator proud, with its acrobatic style of battling. Unfortunately that was far from Paul's way of favouring simple efficiency at all times. But despite this flaw, the dark type had never shown real malice. It had never had any killer instinct of its own, only what Paul had tried to instil into it. To go from the harmless show-off it had been to a savage wild animal prepared to kill in the few hours they'd been apart seemed like a big stretch in Paul's mind.

But then, Weavile didn't seem savage, Paul wondered carefully. It seemed calm. Calculating. Almost as if it was trying to work out its old trainer at the same time Paul was trying to figure out Weavile. Paul had once heard fanciful reports that the releasing of a Pokémon could sometimes unhinge a Pokémon's mind. Perhaps he could even believe that if Weavile had been doing something, anything clearly untoward. But by all appearances, the dark type appeared exactly the same as it had done yesterday and all the days before.

But on the other hand, Paul had been saved. Quickly, still without moving, Paul ran through what moves his old Pokémon had known at the time of its release. Ice beam, Ice Shard, Night Slash and... Surf. Weavile certainly had the skill to navigate itself through the rapid water. It had been subjected to far more testing trials under Paul's ownership after all. So which one was it? Had Weavile just saved him, or just tried to kill him? Was it possible it had done both?

Weavile still hadn't moved. Its expression was still unreadable. Paul kept his eye contact, for the first time, starting to feel a touch of irritation seep through. Why was he even bothering worrying? Weavile was harmless, he'd released it for that very reason after all. They couldn't stay like this all day. Briefly, Paul remembered the deal he'd made with Reggie before the battle, the memory only making him feel more annoyed. Well, fine. Paul had made the deal, yes, but he wasn't going to go out of his way to keep it. He would give Weavile one chance to return, and that's it.

"Weavile," Paul finally uttered.

The dark type seemed to flinch at the sound of its own name. Its eyes widened and its pupils contracted. Paul narrowed his own eyes, then continued, still not moving from where he sat. Although still convinced he was in no real danger, some strange sense was telling him to remain as still as possible.

"Weavile, come down here. You're needed."

Still the dark type didn't move. Paul gritted his teeth, then disregarding what his peculiar sixth sense seemed to be trying to tell him, twisted and pushed himself quickly to his feet.

"Didn't you hear me Weavile? I just gave you an or-"

"Vile!"

Paul leapt backwards just in time, his feet landing with a splash in the edge of the river as the jet of blue light crashed into the spot he'd been standing a moment before, creating a small circle of frozen pebbles and earth. Gasping, Paul snapped his gaze from the small circle of ice back up to Weavile, noticing the Sharp Claw Pokémon was now stood at its full height. Paul hesitated for another moment, then felt anger surge through him, blasting away the shock.

"How dare you attack me Weavile! I'm your trainer, now get down here this in-"

This time it came too fast to dodge. Paul fell over backwards into the river as a multitude of ice fragments struck him directly in the chest. For a moment, the river's flow threatened to pull him away again, but Paul quickly rolled and pushed himself back to his feet.

Still above him, Weavile was now baring its teeth at him. Now knee-deep in water, Paul watched with stunned disbelief as both Weavile's claws began to shimmer with dark-coloured fire. Weavile was actually attacking him!

Quickly, Paul again ran through Weavile's moves. Ice Shard wasn't much of a danger, although hard to avoid, fast as it was. A direct hit from a Ice Beam could be disastrous, given how soaked through his clothes were at the moment, it would likely freeze him solid. Weavile could likely use Surf to great effect too with the fast-moving river at its disposal. And Paul didn't even want to think what injuries Night Slash could cause to his own flesh and blood.

Weavile was fast too, too fast for Paul to outrun. Not that he had anywhere to go, hemmed in as he was with the cliffs and the river. So that left only one option. He was going to have to fight back.

His mind fell down into the familiar patterns easily, somehow dismissing his fear completely as he analysed his former Pokémon above. Fighting type moves were its greatest weakness, but he had no Pokémon of any sort on him to perform such a move. There was nothing available to make fire here, and Paul seriously doubted throwing the pebbles at his feet would antiquate anything close to a Rock Throw. There was a big difference between this scene to the hundreds of other battle scenarios Paul had calculated. Never before had he been one of the combatants involved.

But this was absurd! Weavile wouldn't dare to actually hurt him. That's why the dark type had dragged him out of the very river, surely. Weavile was probably just a bit sore about its release, and wanted to see its old trainer squirm a bit. Well, Paul had had enough of obliging it.

"That's enough Weavile!" Paul yelled. "Do you really expect me to be scared of you?"

"Weavile!" the dark type screeched back. Weavile lifted both claws above its head, still glowing with dark energy. "Weavile!"

"Oh, what, you want an apology? After this? Well, I don't think so. Maybe if you hadn't been so... pathetic to begin with, none of this would have ever happened! This is all your fault, not mine!"

"VILE!"

Paul drew a breath. Almost seeming in slow motion, Weavile seemed to fly. Leaping forward, both claws out-stretched to both sides of its body. Its face twisted beyond recognition. Falling forward in a giant arc to land directly on top of him. Instinctively, Paul brought both arms up to protect his face.

"STARAPTOR!"

Like a streaking comet and with a battle cry worthy of the attack it was employing, the flying type shot from out of nowhere in a blaze of blue. Through the gap in-between his arms, Paul watched as Weavile turned to face this new threat in mid-flight, meeting it with both claws.

A large explosion shook the air. Paul ducked down as the collision formed a fresh cloud of smog just above his head, watching as both Pokémon flew backwards out of the smoke in opposite directions. Staraptor span upwards, clearly in pain as sparks of blue shot across its whole body. But Paul attention was mainly on its adversary. Weavile slammed forcefully on the rocky bank on its feet only a few metres to his front, sliding backwards and trailing residues of smoke with it. Weavile snarled upwards at Staraptor now high in the air, but returned its attention on Paul, who could do nothing as the Sharp Claw Pokémon leapt at him for a second time.

"Lucario! Use Aura Sphere!"

An orb of azure light flew down from above, no bigger than a beach ball. This time, the new attack struck Weavile directly in the face, detonating again into another cloud of smoke, this one close enough to engulf Paul entirely. Paul yelled out wordlessly as the resulting shock-wave sent him flailing backwards, forcing him to put one hand down through the water to the river's bed to stop himself falling over completely again. To his front, as the smoke dissipated quickly, Paul saw a shape fall down lifelessly to the the rocky ground. Weavile, now with swirls in its eyes.

Paul stared with wide eyes at the Pokémon for a moment, then suddenly swore loudly as he forcefully pushed himself upright. Paul stomped over to the unconscious Pokémon, smashing the water into droplets as he walked back onto solid ground. The trainer looked down at Weavile with a strange mixture of fury and relief. And Reggie had actually wanted him to take this Pokémon back? Paul snorted loudly.

"Heya! You okay down there!"

Paul twisted back and looked up into the air above. Stood at the top of the ridge, with a fresh pang of annoyance, he recognised Veilstone City's gym leader Maylene, standing alongside her Lucario. Well, that made sense. Aura Sphere was the signature move of a Lucario after all. A powerful fighting type move, one clearly enough to take Weavile out in a single hit, although no doubt thanks in a large way to fighting type moves being the dark/ice type's duel weakness.

Of course though, that didn't exactly make this 'rescue' any less insufferable. It had to be Maylene, Paul inwardly growled. Paul would have preferred a rescue from almost anyone else other than her. Choosing not to reply, the trainer just glared back upwards, but the gym leader was continuing anyway.

"If you follow this ravine south, it leads out just south of Veilstone southern boundary gate! Are you okay to walk?" Paul heard Maylene yell down to him. "Do you want me to come down there and help you?"

"No!" Paul yelled back, instantly deciding his silence now wouldn't be worth it if he had to walk all the way back with Maylene by his side. "You stay right where you are! I'm fine, and I don't need your assistance!"

"Well, okay then! I'll watch over you from the top here then, and meet you back at Veilstone!"

"I don't need you to-" Paul growled to himself, then gave up. "Whatever," the trainer muttered to himself. Maylene wouldn't leave him anyway. She would care too much about what Reggie would think of it if she did. The gym leader had been hanging around the house far more often lately than what simple training would excuse, fawning over his older brother and Paul was getting sick of it. His brother was too nice for his own good to say what was needed to get rid of her. But Paul would have no such inhibitions if it came to it.

Paul looked back down to Weavile, still laid out on the rocky river bank. Maylene had obviously seen the Pokémon, and would no doubt report that fact back to Reggie. Reggie would expect him to uphold his part of the deal. And while Reggie was sometimes irritating, he was still the one who looked after all his spare Pokémon without any complaint. Slowly Paul pulled out one of the spare Pokéballs from his sodden pocket.

"I'm not doing this for you," Paul muttered to the prone creature on the ground, its claws spread at wide angles. "I'm doing it for Reggie. But as far as I'm concerned, you're not my Pokémon anymore, especially after that little tantrum." With a flick of his wrist, Paul tossed the capsule at Weavile, where it swallowed it whole and chimed the familiar tone of a successful capture almost instantly.

"Not even a struggle. Can't say I'm surprised." Paul picked the red and white sphere back up, then smirked as a new thought suddenly occurred to him. "And remember Weavile, Reggie said I had to take you back if I lost. He never said for how long."

With that same smirk still lingering on his face, Paul pocketed the capture, then turned, heading away south down the pebbly shore.

* * *

x - x - x - x - x

* * *

"Weavile was attacking you?!"

Sat at the opposite end of the table, Paul let out a snort. "If you could call it that. Its Ice Shard was pathetic really, it barely knocked me over. I wasn't in any real danger."

"Didn't look that way to me," Reggie heard Maylene mutter from behind him. His brother quickly glared in her direction.

"And no one asked your opinion, or asked for you to come to the rescue. Mind your own business in the future."

"Paul!" Reggie snapped sternly. "Show some gratitude, Maylene was trying to help you. And from what she's just told me, it sounded like you needed it too."

"Well, she doesn't know what she's talking about. Honestly Reggie, why do you keep tolerating her? She says I was in danger, well how can you judge real danger from the opinion of such a pathetic gym leader is beyond me-"

"I'm just going to go," Maylene muttered from behind him. "I'll catch you later Reggie." By the front door, Lucario growled loudly, taking one step forward towards the purple-haired trainer.

"Oh, what do you want?" Paul snapped scathingly in the fighting type's direction.

"Paul! Shut up!" Reggie yelled suddenly, half-rising out of his seat as he sensed an impending fight about to break out. "Maylene, please stay," Reggie asked in a gentler voice as he turned to look at the gym leader. Maylene gave a small sad smile back, but true to his request, turned back towards the table.

"And Lucario," Reggie finished tiredly. "Please go join the others in the living room. That goes for all of you," he added sternly, spotting several faces peering round the door into the kitchen again. Reggie slowly sat back down, mentally re-gathering his patience as his younger brother glared back at him with an affronted expression.

"Don't you tell me to shu-"

"I'll tell you what I want Paul. You deserved it, and you know it." As Paul huffed in derision and turned his head to one side, Reggie took the moment to rest his own head in his hands. He couldn't handle this much longer. No matter which way he looked at it, things had to change.

"I got Weavile back."

"Huh?" Reggie raised his head, surprised as Paul looked back at him briefly, then pulled out an enlarged capsule and placed it on the wooden table to his front.

"It's a waste of a good Pokéball though. The thing's completely out of control. Attacking humans-not that I was in any real danger of course," Paul shot another quick glare over Reggie's shoulder at Maylene, "but it'll be useless in battle when it can't even obey simple commands..."

"Did you honestly expect it to obey you Paul?" Reggie asked, exasperated. "You'd just released it hours before."

"Whatever. Regardless of the 'why', it's still useless. There's no point keeping it, I might as well-"

"Oh no Paul," Reggie quickly interrupted. "You're going to keep it, and keep it on your team until I say otherwise. Weavile, and what happens to it from here on out is your responsibility, and it's time you started realising that fact."

"Hmph."

"And it's time you started taking responsibility in general Paul." Reggie hesitated for a moment. After this there would be no turning back.

"And that starts with you leaving here Paul."

"What?!" That got Paul's attention. His little brother looked stunned. "You're kicking me out now?!"

"I don't have room for you here at the moment, especially not with your incessant training schedule."

"You're kicking your only brother out," Paul repeated incredulously. The trainer glared yet again at the other human occupant of the room. "I suppose she gets to stay and train though. You don't have a problem with Maylene sticking around. I suppose this was your plan from the start. It must have been such a trouble for you when I first came home, and made playing 'happy families' hard for you and the gym loser over there..."

"This isn't my doing Paul," Reggie replied back sharply, fighting hard to keep his calm now. "You will always have a home here, but the fact is, you didn't even try to make it easier on me. Quite the opposite. So I have an idea for you Paul, one you will agree to, if you remember our little deal this morning. Are we understood?"

"That depends on the idea."

"Are we understood Paul?"

Paul huffed again, then turned away. The kitchen fell silent for another long moment. Reggie took a deep breath. This was it.

"You're going to Kanto Paul. You're going to challenge the Battle Frontier, just like I did." And as Paul slowly turned back to him with another stunned expression, Reggie forced out a half-grin. "And you're going to beat it."

The kitchen fell silent yet again. Briefly, Reggie heard Maylene gasp quietly from behind him.

"You're insane."

"Why not Paul?" Reggie quickly answered. "Didn't you say you wanted to challenge Dad to a rematch the moment you came back here from the League? Well here's your chance. You can take on his Frontier, and beat him, and prove once and for all that you're a better trainer than either of us. It sounds ideal for you, bro."

"Not to me. I changed my mind, bro," Paul replied in a heavily sarcastic tone.

"How come?"

"Because I figured, what's the point?" Paul suddenly leaned forward, staring straight back into Reggie's eyes. He was speaking quieter now, almost as if he was trying to cut Maylene out of the discussion completely. Which he probably was, Reggie reflected.

"Our Dad wants us to prove ourselves through battle," Paul continued in the same quiet voice, now sounding serious. "He completely shut us off after mother died. Why should we bother trying to gain his approval Reggie? Let the old man stew in his pyramid, I say. I'm not playing his game. And when I become Champion, then he can come and challenge me if he dares."

"But that's the reason Paul, why I want you to go," Reggie replied back seriously. "Dad hasn't been the same. You were too young to remember properly, but Mum dying changed him. He had to give up his Championship dreams himself, and take the Frontier Brain job just to support us. Maybe he secretly blames us for that. Either way, something needs to be done to try and pull this family back together."

"Not my problem," his brother huffed. "You're the only one who keeps clinging onto the idea that this family can be reunified. I couldn't care less, it doesn't hold me back. If that's what you want, then you should have beaten him when you had the chance-"

"But I didn't," Reggie interrupted. "And I can't now, as I told you, only Infernape has managed to keep most of its old strength. Most of my team has gone to others, and Staraptor, Swalot or any of my other Pokémon can't keep pace with Dad's Regis. That's why you're going to do it in my place."

"And I suppose you're not giving me any choice in this."

"No, I'm not." As Paul opened his mouth to argue again, Reggie quickly continued in a gentler voice. "Look Paul, what's the real problem here? It's a great challenge, the Frontier. It'll push your Pokémon harder than any League gyms, which will appeal to you I'm sure. And family aside, you'll get the chance for a rematch with a man who beat you before. As well as getting away from here, which I'm sure must annoy you far more than it does me. It sounds perfect."

"But why can't I just travel to Snowpoint and just challenge him directly? Why do I have to bother with the whole Battle Frontier?"

"Because, like it or not, you're going to need more training before you face Dad again. Six battle facilities beforehand will help you and your Pokémon prepare."

"As well as keeping me away from here for longer I'm sure," Reggie heard Paul mutter under his breath. The Pokémon breeder suppressed a urge to sigh.

"And as well as being good for your progression as a trainer, it might be the only thing that'll drag Dad back to the Frontier too," Reggie added after a brief pause. "He's been in Sinnoh for far too long. I'm worried about his job, it would be disastrous for all of us if he lost it. But let's face it, what better way to bring him back to Kanto than him hearing one of his own sons is taking on the entire Frontier? I know he won't be able to ignore that. That's why I'm going to Snowpoint to deliver the news of your impending challenge to Dad personally."

Paul seemed taken aback at that. "You're going to see him?"

"What other option is there? I can't reach him by phone. Whatever he's doing up there is clearly too important to reply to his messages, although you know how our Dad gets with ancient relics. So I'm going to have to go myself."

Paul frowned.

"But, what about here? Your precious Day Care?" Reggie chose to ignore the sarcasm.

"That's going to be taken care of by Maylene while I'm gone. She's kinda agreed to step in for a couple of weeks, since the League season is over."

Paul gaped back at him, slowly looking up from Reggie to Maylene again. "Hope you have insurance..."

"I think she'll manage fine," Reggie replied, now suddenly suppressing a strange urge to laugh. He wasn't the only one either, as he heard a faint chuckle come from behind him from the aforementioned gym leader. "So, are we all in agreement?"

Paul stared back at him for a long moment. Then as Reggie met his stare unflinching, finally grunted back.

"Fine. I'll do it." Paul paused for a moment. "It will be good training after all," the trainer admitted in a begrudging tone. "And with Pokémon like Weavile on my team, I'm going to need all the training I can get."

"Excellent," Reggie replied happily. "Then you better go pack your bag. Your flight leaves at five tomorrow morning."

"What?" Paul exclaimed, looking aghast. "Tomorrow? You booked it already?"

"Actually, I booked it yesterday," Reggie admitted a little mischievously. "Quite lucky you weren't stuck out in the woods all night, huh?"

"Hpmh," his brother muttered back in reply, suddenly for the first time looking exhausted as he rubbed his face with one hand. He'd had quite a busy day after all, Reggie realised to himself. Paul pushed himself from the table and climbed back to his feet, then slowly began to make his way towards the door to the hallway and the staircase to his room.

"Reggie?" his brother asked quietly, suddenly pausing just before the doorway.

"Hmm?"

"What happened... to Torterra?"

Reggie took a breath, a strange mix of relief and surprise flowing through him. "It's fine. I took it to the Centre. You can pick it up tomorrow before you fly."

"Fine." Paul seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Thanks Reggie." Then his brother was gone.

Reggie let out one final breath, then after making sure Paul had definitely disappeared, groaned and leaned forward until his head touched the wooden surface of the table. Dimly, he felt Maylene's hand rest on his shoulder.

"You did well Reg."

"I hope so," Reggie murmured back, still not moving. "I just hope Dad has more luck with him than I've had."

"You think Brandon will be able to get through to him?"

"I hope so. And I've made a few other plans that might help Paul see what he's missing along the way as well. But at the end of the day, it's up to Paul whether he changes or not."

"You did all you could Reggie," Maylene replied back softly. Reggie slowly lifted himself back off his kitchen table.

"Yeah, I hope so. I suppose I should start packing as well. Shame there are no flights going to Snowpoint City. Would make life easier if there were."

"Yeah." Maylene fell silent for a moment. "Well, I'll miss you, but family comes first. I'll keep everything together here I promise," Maylene finished, giving Reggie's shoulder a quick squeeze for empathises.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it Mayls." Reggie looked over his shoulder, giving his girlfriend a quick grateful smile. But despite the gym leader's words, Reggie could help but let his gaze drift back around to look through the doorway Paul had just walked through, to the staircase up which Paul was undoubtedly now preparing for his next journey. For a moment, Reggie wondered if he was doing the right thing, pitting his only two living relatives against each other, far from where he would be able to keep a careful eye on them both.

Then almost unbidden, Reggie looked over to the other side of the kitchen, where through the living room doorway his three Pokémon were still watching television. On the mantelpiece above the fire, four complete sets of eight badges shone, and one incomplete set of six Frontier symbols. Reggie gritted his teeth for a moment at the old memory, then, surprising even himself, suddenly grinned as an unexpected thought popped into his head.

Go get 'em Paul.


	3. When Every Life Meets Another

Chapter 3 time! Well, to make a change, I'm gonna have my AN at the end of the chapter instead of the beginning. You'll understand why when you get there. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks go out to reppad98 for helping me out with this chapter like usual. All lovers of shipping, head over to her profile. However, any mistakes you spot are MY mistakes, no one else's. There's a nice little box below all this text, please list your complaints there :P.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"You're certain you've got everything you need?"

"Reggie, I've got over four regions of experience under my belt. You can stop your worrying already," Paul replied with a feeling of slight exasperation as he placed his six Pokéballs in a small grey plastic tray, along with his belt, wallet, Pokégear, some loose change, both his trainers, his shoulder bag and his light blue coat. After checking himself over one final time, the trainer slid the tray forward towards the beginning of the narrow conveyor belt, then walked over to one side to join the queue waiting to pass through the airport metal detector. As he finally came to the front of the line, while making sure to return the overweight security guard's suspicious stare tenfold, Paul walked forward, feeling the same relief as any other traveller did as he passed through the hollow metal door without incident.

At the other side of a thick crimson rope, separating the reception from the check-in, his brother watched carefully.

"You know, for someone who was so eager to get me out of his house, you sure do like to linger around when you're not needed," Paul continued to comment as he pulled his tray back towards him as it reappeared at the other end of the X-ray machine.

"Six Pokéballs, containing Torterra, Weavile, Houndoom, Tentacruel, Ninjask and Electivire. Is that correct?" the bored-looking woman asked from behind the scanner opposite him, not even bothering to make eye-contact as she stared at the see-through version of Paul's belongings shown to her front.

"That's right."

"You are aware that the releasing of Pokémon while on board the aircraft is prohibited, and can result in temporary confiscation or a fixed penalty charge?"

"Yes, fine."

"Okay. Make sure to collect all your personal belongings and have a nice day," the airport worker finished in the same monotone voice, then immediately began the exact same routine with the middle-aged woman with her two young sons coming in behind him. Paul quickly pulled his tray off the conveyor belt and drew to one side, quickly putting his belt back on and carefully reattaching his six Pokéballs.

"Hey, remember to take it easy on Torterra for a while, yeah Paul?" Reggie said, overhearing the exchange. "It's fully healthy, but those leaves on its tree will take a couple of weeks to regrow. While they do, Torterra's not going to have as much energy as usual."

"Yes, I know that. It is my Pokémon after all Reggie."

"Good. And remember to call me when you land Paul. I'll be waiting," Reggie called. Paul shot his brother another irritated look. "C'mon, don't look at me like that. You know I'll worry if you don't."

"I suppose that's the reason for the gift then," Paul answered, looking down at his shiny new Pokégear with distaste. "You know, I think you overestimate at times just how much I value your company."

"That's not just for me Paul, although I admit it would make a nice change to hear from you more often, rather than just whenever you need a Pokémon exchange," Reggie answered with a slight smile. "There's a handy navigation function on that thing as well. Yes, I know you've travelled Kanto before," Reggie seemed to hastily add as Paul opened his mouth again to reply, "but you've never been to any of the Battle Facilities before, apart from the Pyramid, and that tends to move around a bit anyway. That will help you out when you get stuck."

"Didn't you just tell me you've organised for someone to meet me in Saffron anyway?" Paul grumbled as he picked the final few coins out of his tray and carried it over to the empty pile. "Honestly Reggie, I'm not a little kid anymore. I can find my own way without you organising a tour guide or giving me," Paul gave the Pokégear another distasteful glance, "gadgets."

"It never hurts to have someone or something point you in the right direction Paul," Reggie answered cheerfully.

"Who is it anyway? How am I supposed to even know this person when I see him?"

"You won't miss him Paul. Trust me." For some reason, Reggie seemed to chuckle slightly. "I wish I could come along and show you around personally, but we both have our own jobs to do now, don't we?"

"Suppose that's something to be grateful for," Paul said, already starting to make his way out of the room towards his gate. "That's the main reason I'm going on this trip anyway, to get away from you and your insufferable girlfriend."

"Paul, wait a minute now!"

Paul paused in the doorway, causing a family of four to swerve round him. Ignoring their inaudible grumbles, Paul half-twisted back to look at his brother again.

"What now?"

"Is that it? You don't want to say goodbye to your big brother? Don't I get a hug?" Reggie asked now in a teasing tone while half-raising his arms. The breeder was now grinning back at him.

Paul gave Reggie an expressionless stare.

"Okay then, worth a shot." Paul rolled his eyes, then turned to walk away again.

"No, wait Paul, seriously."

"What do you want Reggie?" Paul demanded, feeling the irritation start to bubble within him. "Stop playing around."

"You'll come back home for Christmas, yeah?" Reggie asked, the grin fading to a stern expression.

Paul took a deep breath as he rolled his eyes for the second time, stepping to one side to allow a ridiculously large business-looking man through. "Sure Reggie. I'll be home for your under-cooked turkey."

Reggie laughed. "I've never heard you complain much. And who knows? Maybe this time Dad might be joining us if all goes well."

"Hmph," Paul snorted. "Yeah, because that won't make an uncomfortable holiday for anyone..."

As Reggie shook his head slightly with a small smile on his face, Paul finally turned to face his brother properly. "You just make sure he gets to Kanto in time for our rematch. I'm trusting you to handle that much. Assuming you don't mess that up, I'll be back for Christmas, with a Brave Symbol. You can have it as your present if you like."

"I wouldn't want it Paul," Reggie answered, still smiling slightly. "But that's an ambitious claim. It's already nearly the end of October you know. I think you'll find it pretty tough to take down the entire Battle Frontier in just two months. It took me almost four times that long."

"More like four years and still counting. You never completed it Reggie. That's the difference between us, Reggie. I don't quit when it gets tough." Paul replied sharply, watching as Reggie's smile finally faltered. Paul gave his brother another intense stare. "I will have that symbol by Christmas," he promised firmly. "Whether or not I bring our father home with me, I really couldn't care less."

"Well, however long it takes, I wish you the best of luck Paul," his brother replied, clearly attempting to re-hitch his earlier annoying smile. Paul pushed down his own annoyance, then gave his brother a quick nod.

"Thanks. But I won't be needing it. See you Reggie." And with that, Paul turned and left his brother behind.

The waiting area for his departure gate was packed. Paul sat down on one of the metal grated mass-produced airport benches, then successfully glared down an approaching fellow passenger who was showing clear intentions of sitting down beside him. The man's eyes widened, then averted their gaze, clearly now deciding to rest in a different place. Now seeing he wasn't in any immediate danger of being intruded upon, Paul tried to make himself to relax a little, attempting to block out the sound of a screaming baby at the other side of the room.

He'd already accepted this was probably going to be an uncomfortable flight, since it was so busy with everyone still returning home after the League season. But the combination of the early rise after his eventful day yesterday and his brother's incessant fussing that morning had already made him feel irksome, and the day hadn't even really begun.

The Battle Frontier.

Was it even a good idea? Paul had spent much of the morning asking himself that very question. It was a worthwhile venture for any trainer, no doubt about that. The Battle Frontier was known world-wide after all for its high difficultly level, and only a handful of trainers had ever conquered it successfully. The Frontier Brains in some cases could be considered on par with the Elite Four, and in the case of his father, he was probably even stronger.

It would push his Pokémon hard, and him even harder. So what was the problem?

Paul silently ground his teeth as he waited. Brandon, the Pyramid King. The final Frontier Brain. And his long absent father.

Apparently he had been somewhat reliable before his mother had died, although Paul couldn't remember much of that time. He'd only been six after all, Paul thought furiously. The man had obviously made his decision regarding his sons nine years ago, why Reggie felt the need to continue to chase after him after all this time was beyond Paul. But that was Reggie after all. His brother had always craved affection, it was probably why he enjoyed having Maylene run around after him, Paul thought to himself darkly.

His father was the past as far as Paul was concerned, and Paul only cared about moving forward. And no matter how he envisioned this playing out, it was going to dig up many things from the past that were better left buried.

But despite that, Reggie also had a good point. This was his chance to finally prove he was a trainer worthwhile of attention. Once he conquered the Battle Frontier, he'd finally have something to show for all his hard work. He might have failed the Sinnoh League, but he'd have the Battle Frontier. Determination and a hint of excitement was beginning to bud inside, but it was more than that. There was a furious desire to prove himself growing alongside as well. He wouldn't just fade away like the thousands of other trainers that had tried and eventually given up. Like his brother. Paul was going to be someone. He was meant to be someone great.

If he conquered the Battle Frontier, a small voice inside him whispered. If he defeated Brandon. If he hadn't been making mistakes all this time and his method of training his Pokémon would never make his team capable standing equal with his father's legendary trio.

Paul growled under his breath, forcefully pushing the voice away. Reggie had lost the Frontier, Paul would not make his mistakes. And as for Ash Ketchum...

A loud low-pitched tone cut across the room, followed by a brief announcement. Immediately, the room began to move towards a doorway at the far end, where airport buses were already waiting to ferry ticket holders to the large aeroplane. Paul pushed himself briskly to his feet. It was time. There was no turning back now. The past was the past and the future was here, and Paul would crush the Frontier and his father in the only way he knew how.

x - x - x - x - x

A low jolting shook him awake. Paul blinked twice, his eyes painfully adjusting as the lights above his head suddenly beamed back from dimmed to full. All around him, other passengers were likewise stirring, rubbing eyes and wearily looking for their belongings. A high pitched baby's cry suddenly cut through the cabin, causing the purple-haired trainer to wince.

_"Erm, good afternoon ladies and gentlemen... This is your captain speaking... Erm, we are about thirty minutes from Saffron International Airport. Due to unexpected weather patterns, we are currently running about ten minutes behind schedule. We apologise for any inconvenience caused..."_

Paul gave his shoulders a slight shake, rotating his head in an attempt to work a crick out of his neck, then stretched as much as space allowed being cramped between an ancient-looking man with a long white beard sat to one side and a still-asleep plump middle-aged-looking woman with brown curly hair and over-sized spectacles on the other. Now feeling slightly more awake, Paul quickly brushed one hand over his belt, then pulled the bag by his feet a little closer.

_"Please make sure your seatbelt is now attached and your tray-tables are in their upright and locked position. Our flight attendants will be walking down the aisle at this point should you need any assistance. Thank you for your cooperation."_

"It's stormy for this time of year."

Paul glanced sideways. The old man was looking out the small oval window to his right, watching as rain hammered against the glass as he murmured to himself. "Nature is a temperamental mistress, but still..."

Paul snorted to himself. It seemed it was no small mercy he'd managed to sleep through almost the entire flight. The trainer instead buried himself in looking through his bag at his feet. On the drive to the airport, Reggie had talked about the various locations of the six Battle Facilities. Apparently there was one close to Saffron itself. The Battle Dome. And Reggie had organised a 'guide' to meet him at the airport to take him there? Paul snorted slightly again. How hard could it be to find? Paul silently prayed his brother hadn't called anyone unbearable. Of course, the worrying thing with that was Paul knew he and his brother had vastly different opinions on whether or not a person was classed as 'unbearable'.

"Oh, you disagree young one?"

Paul looked up again. The old man had turned his head from the window, and was now observing him with a wide smile. Paul stared back at him for a moment, taking in the cheap-looking jeans and sandals, up to the simple white t-shirt and then back to his face. The man looked unbelievably frail, but there was a slight twinkling in his eyes, the type old people had when they simply refused to stop clinging onto the wonders of life. Paul turned back to his bag, then realising the man was still watching him, muttered "It's just the weather..." back under his breath.

"Perhaps you're right my young friend." The stranger chuckled lightly. "Being so old can sometimes mean you look for answers beyond what is simple. However, you'd be surprised at the effect something as simple as the weather can have on the things we take for granted everyday. The food we eat, the aeroplanes we fly..." The man paused, his smile growing slightly wider. "Our own moods, for example."

Silence followed. Paul kept himself busy in his bag, hoping his neighbour would need no more placating. To his relief however, the man seemed now content with humming a light tune as he stared back out of the window. A slight lurching in Paul's stomach told him the plane was now descending. Looking out of the window past the old man, he could begin to see the beginnings of trees and grassy fields.

The cabin suddenly shook. Paul unconsciously gripped his armrests a little tighter as the wheels of the aircraft found grip on the asphalt runway, then silently listened to the sounds of the plane taxiing down the rest of the strip.

"Of course, such a thing is perfectly natural."

Paul looked incredulously to his right again. It seemed the old man had just picked up straight from where he had left off about twenty minutes ago.

"The weather has shaped man ever since he walked this earth. Even now with all this technology, I've had to be diverted all the way from Hoenn to Sinnoh before returning home at last to Kanto. Visiting my niece you see," the man added, still talking away despite Paul blatantly looking in the opposite direction in another attempt to ignore him. "She's quite an accomplished Pokémon trainer. I see you're a Pokémon trainer too," he added as Paul reluctantly glanced back, gesturing to Paul's belt as the plane finally came to a halt.

With some relief, Paul saw the seat belt light flicker off, then leapt to his feet with his shoulder bag in hand, hoping to escape the cabin before being trapped by all the other passengers.

_"Well, we have arrived in Saffron International Airport. Local time is five-forty six in the afternoon. We thank you for flying with FearowAir, and we hope to see you again soon."_

"Well, my young friend, I wish you well. Whatever the weather may do, I hope the sun always shines on your back," the old man bade with yet another wide smile, showing surprising agility as he climbed up onto his own seat in order to reach his luggage above. Paul couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as a misshapen sack with several tears appeared, clutched tightly in the old man's weathered fingers, then as the packed row of people between the aircraft seating finally began to move towards the now open aircraft doors, gratefully began to shuffle along with them.

"I'm sorry, but you never told me your name? I feel it's bad fortune to end friendship on such a casual note, be it only a brief friendship."

Paul growled slightly. Why didn't some people just get the message? Normally he'd be content with just ignoring such people, but the grogginess after the uncomfortable sleep he'd just had had done nothing to help his earlier bad mood. The trainer turned slightly to look again at the elderly man still smiling, and now holding out one hand towards him.

"I am not your friend, old man. And you don't need to know my name."

Paul turned and walked away, only to be stopped short as he suddenly felt the man grip one of his shoulders with surprising strength.

"To be so young, yet so full of anger. It's not as nature intended."

"Get off me!" Paul uttered sharply, pushing the hand forcefully away and shoving forward through the lines of passengers as fast as he could towards the exit, earning quite a few exclamations and angry comments along the way.

Saffron airport was the same as any Paul had visited before. He'd flown many times in his life already after all, he'd even flown into this very airport the very first time he'd come to Kanto. Back then, it had been with the intention of watching Reggie complete his Frontier challenge and begin his own Kanto journey. Somehow that memory seemed a long time ago, a lot longer than what the years would have said. Paul clamped down quickly on the past images that rose to the surface once again.

He'd always found it strange how minimal security was going into a country as opposed to going out of one. But airport security that was the least of Paul's concerns right now. He was finally in Kanto. Finally away from his brother, and ready to start a whole new challenge.

Reggie had said there'd be someone waiting in the airport to show him the way to the Battle Dome, apparently situated on the outskirts of Saffron. A place Paul had never been to before, since he'd been travelling and collecting his first badges while Reggie had challenged it. Reggie had been strangely vague about it though, Paul thought to himself. Paul was more than tempted to brush this so-called 'guide' off and just seek directions at the local Pokémon Centre himself. After the encounter with his seating partner, the thought of a travelling companion who might be just as bad was more than Paul could bear right now, even if the Battle Dome was at most only a few hours walking distance away.

While he walked down the long corridors to the airport's reception and exit, Paul considered everything he knew about his first intended Battle facility. Which wasn't a lot. With this kind of thing, he'd usually research it beforehand. But there just hadn't been any time, Paul thought, between the madness of the day before and the flight today. It didn't help that Reggie had given him little to no time to prepare, Paul thought with another flash of annoyance at his brother. And a mixture of his own pride and irritation at Reggie had stopped Paul from asking his brother for any hints.

Should he rest and research tonight, then make his challenge first thing in the morning? It was the sensible option, really. But something inside argued against that idea. Paul felt restless. He'd had enough of sensible. This whole venture of Reggie's to somehow win their father- no- Brandon back was absurd anyway. No, Paul would take his first Frontier symbol right now if at all possible, and hopefully send a important message to the great Pyramid King. If he truly intended on keeping his promise to Reggie to be back for the holidays with a Brave Symbol in hand, he needed travel fast and crush the first six Frontier Brains as quickly as possible. Paul nodded to himself, his stride lengthening as he came to that decision. Assuming this 'guide' wasn't a complete moron with directions, Paul would make his first challenge tonight. Reggie could wait for his phone call until after his victory, that way Paul would have something to show him.

Paul quickly flashed his passport at the final guard, and entered the main area of the airport. Everywhere people were bustling around, dragging luggage, meeting loved ones. Paul wiped a thin layer of sweat from his forehead. In response to the bad weather outside, someone had clearly decided to crank the heating up to its maximum setting and Paul in his usual light blue coat was already beginning to suffer. The sooner he got out of here, the better. Paul looked around quickly for any signs of someone waiting to meet him, but there was no one. Paul wasn't even sure what he had been expecting. A suited man wearing dark sunglasses and holding up a piece of cardboard with his name on it perhaps? Waiting to lead him to a tinted limousine outside? Paul snorted. Well, there was nothing, and Paul wasn't about to hang around. It was his brother's own fault after all, Reggie had been annoying vague about describing exactly who he was meeting and Paul wasn't about to now go around asking strangers like some kind of lost child.

Pulling his grey shoulder bag a little tighter, Paul quickly made his way towards the exit. He could already see the rain hammering against the transparent automatic doors, and gritted his teeth as the doors slid apart, allowing that rain fly through and pelt him in the face. Paul came to a temporary halt. Time for plan B, he would simply ask directions at the nearest Pokémon Centre and make his way directly there.

Paul considered to himself. Kanto's capital had three Pokémon Centres in total, and if he remembered correctly, it was only a short distance to the nearest one, only a little way down this very street in fact.

And staying here looking at the weather wouldn't get him there any faster, which wouldn't get him to the Battle Dome in time to claim his first symbol. Paul steeled himself slightly, then plunged forward. It would take far more than bad weather to dissuade him now.

The street outside was near enough vacant of pedestrians. Paul wove his way through the traffic to the other side of the road, then walked quickly down the pavement with his shoulders hunched and hands firmly in his pockets. He could already feel his hair sticking to his face.

A few minutes later, Paul gratefully found himself in the reception of a brightly-lit building, with the usual faces of the resident pink-haired Nurse Joy and her Chancey, or at least one of her Chancey, already smiling at him. Paul glanced around. Other than the usual Nurse Joy, there were only two other people in the room, one a young-looking girl talking on one of the videophones in the corner and the other a older-looking teenage boy reading a newspaper while relaxing on one of the couches. Dismissing both as possibilities for Reggie's mysterious guide, Paul strode forward to the wooden counter.

"Good afternoon, welcome to south Saffron Pokémon Centre. If you'd just like to put your Pokémon on the counter, I will-"

"You needn't concern yourself with that," Paul interrupted briskly. "I'm not here to heal my Pokémon."

"Oh." Joy seemed a bit taken aback, but Paul watched as she recovered quickly back her typical default 'Joy' setting. "Well, how can I help you then?"

"I'm here for directions. I need to know the way to-"

Suddenly, Paul heard the Centre doors open behind him. Paul paused, the distraction causing him to momentarily forget what he was asking for, then continued on as he quickly remembered. "The way to a place called the Battle Dome. I'm told it's on Saffron's east border. It's a popular place apparently, so you should have no problem telling me where it is," Paul finished, staring expectantly at the Nurse Joy. Somewhat to his relief, the woman was already nodding in response to his request.

"Of course! If you just turn right out of the Centre, then follow it down the road to..."

"Pikapi!"

Paul froze.

The nurse was still talking, but her voice had faded somehow. Words no longer seemed to make sense. He felt like his body wasn't quite his anymore. Because he couldn't have heard that. No, it just wasn't possible.

But then again, it didn't mean anything. This was a Pokémon Centre in Kanto after all, it wasn't as if that particular creature was exactly rare over here. Paul opened his mouth to ask the nurse to repeat her instructions.

"Wait, you're right Pikachu! There he is!"

That voice on the other hand...

Paul slowly turned, completely shutting out a suddenly affronted Nurse Joy. The voice was unmistakeable, even as Paul hoped desperately it was some kind of mistake. His mind was in total shock. How could this have happened? Out of all of Kanto, how could he have bumped into him of all people?

He hadn't even changed his clothes, Paul noted, still with a sense of total disbelief. He looked exactly the same. Paul locked eyes with the boy with a small Pokémon on his shoulders now stood by the doorway, still unable to even react as the boy flashed a wide grin back at him and strode forward with the same wide smile still on his face.

"Hey Paul. It's great to see you again. How have you been?"

"Reggie," Paul growled back. The boy faltered slightly, his out-stretched hand falling a little.

"Er, no, it's Ash, don't you remembe-?"

"No," Paul snapped back instantly at the raven-haired trainer. "Reggie sent you, didn't he?"

The trainer re-found his grin.

"That's right! He rang me a few days ago, asking if I would come and give you a hand today." As Paul made no effort to respond immediately, resulting in silence stretching between then, Ash frowned a little.

"He did, er, tell you that right?" he asked, now looking a little hesitant.

"No. He left that part out," Paul finally replied between gritted teeth. Ash gaped a little at this news, then rubbed the back of his head with one hand, looking a little sheepish.

"Oh, well I guess this must come as a bit of a surprise then heh heh. Reggie called me at home to ask if I could help show you to the Battle Dome. I've come all the way from Pallet Town, it's taken a couple of days. I wonder why he didn't tell you..."

Because Reggie knew he would never agree to it, Paul thought furiously to himself. Because that would have ruined yet another part of Reggie's grand scheme to start turning him into some kind of bleeding-heart. Inside, Paul was fuming. How could Reggie have done this to him? But he wasn't about to let his anger and shock show on the outside, not to this trainer.

"I have no idea," Paul eventually muttered back, then blinked as another part of the raven-haired boy's words sunk in. "Wait, did you say he asked you this a few days ago...?"

"Well, yeah. I've been travelling for three days to get here. Not that I minded," Ash seemed to hastily add, as if expecting Paul to berate Reggie on such a selfish request. "Truth is, it's been a nice change to get out the house for a bit. It's great seeing Mom again, but she does get a bit, you know..."

"No. I don't," Paul interrupted shortly. "And it's nice that my brother kept you so well informed. I only heard about this yesterday."

"What, really? Well, that's weird." Ash looked thoughtful for a moment, then suddenly brightened again. "Well, it's great to hear you're taking on the Battle Frontier. It was awesome, I learned so much while doing it! Plus those Frontier Brains are super strong, I really had to take it to the next level, you know? Isn't that right Pikachu?" he added to the rodent still perched to the left of his head.

"Pika!"

But how much did he know? Paul wondered silently. Could he know? Would Reggie have told him? No, surely not. By an unspoken agreement, they'd kept the family ties a secret when they'd all met up in Snowpoint after all. In fact, it had been Reggie himself that had taken the lead on that matter. His brother had called their father by his first name upon them all meeting near Snowpoint City, Brandon had obviously taken the hint and followed suit and Paul had been more than willing to go along with Reggie's decision. And Ash wouldn't have noticed anything unless it shoved right up his nose, Paul thought a little scornfully as the boy opposite continued to babble on senselessly.

But still, Paul wasn't even sure how he felt about this now the initial shock had worn off. He was angry at Reggie, sure, for pulling this stunt in the first place. But angry at the trainer in front of him? For some reason, Paul found he wasn't.

It was a strange feeling. While he still hated the fact he'd lost to the trainer opposite, he couldn't for some reason seem to find any hatred left for the trainer himself. Irritation at the fact he was still talking without yet realising Paul had barely spoken a word in reply, sure. Frustration still that he'd actually lost to such a person, definitely. But Ash himself? It was the same strange feeling he'd felt on the steps outside the Sinnoh League stadium barely an hour after their battle, when the trainer to his front had caught up with Paul as he'd been attempting to leave quietly.

The disappointment had been ripe, but at the end of the day, both sides had given their all. And whether by skill or otherwise, the trainer at Paul's front had defeated him at his best. With a small feeling of surprise, Paul realised what the feeling was. Just under a year ago, who would have ever thought he would've actually ever come to respect Ash Ketchum?

"-And I arrived at the airport and you weren't there! So I figured, I'd go to the Pokémon Centre and call Reggie, maybe your flight had been delayed in the bad weather or something. So I came here, and here you were!" The trainer took a breath. "Why didn't you meet me at the airport?" Ash asked, now looking curious.

"Haven't you been listening?" Paul snapped. "Reggie never even told me you were coming." Of course, just because he'd in a strange way come to respect Ash for his misguided ideals and battle skill, didn't mean he found anyone asking obvious questions any more tolerating.

"Maybe my brother's smarter than I give him credit for. I wouldn't have bothered waiting anyway if he had told me you were coming after all."

"Jeez Paul, I'm here to help. You could at least act like you're grateful," the trainer opposite replied sharply, now starting to look a little annoyed himself. "I did journey all the way up from Pallet Town, you know."

"Then you wasted your time," Paul replied equally sharply back. While he had no doubt the trainer meant him well in his own way, the memory of their rivalry was still far too raw to willingly accept help from him. And Paul disliked accepting help from anyone, let alone the one who had taken his very dream away.

"I don't need anyone's help, least of all yours. You might as well head back to Pallet town. I'll be just fine without you." And with one last glare at his rival, Paul turned back to a now confused-looking Joy. "Now, which way did you say once I turn right out of this Centr-?"

"Oh, no you don't!"

Paul stopped short in surprise as Ash suddenly appeared to one side, now leaning on the reception counter with an expression of sudden determination. "I've been sat in Pallet for two weeks now, bored out my mind! Reggie promised me I'd get to see at least one good battle if I took you to the Battle Dome. I've been looking forward to it ever since he called, and you're not gonna take that away from me!"

"It's none of your concern," Paul snapped back angrily. "Whatever my brother promised you, take it up with him! I have no interest in your help, nor do I need it."

"Oh yeah? What's the Frontier Brain called at the Battle Dome then?" Ash smirked as Paul simply grit his teeth in reply. "What's his style of battling? What Pokémon does he use? Bet Reggie never told you that."

"That's of no-"

"Face it Paul, you could use my help. I'm coming whether you like it or not."

"No, you're not!" Paul yelled back, finally reaching the end of his patience. What had Reggie been thinking?! But the Pallet trainer stood his ground, not looking the slightest bit dissuaded or intimidated.

"Yeah, I am!"

"Pikah!"

"Excuse me, could you keep it down a little?" Nurse Joy hesitantly interrupted. "We have many sick Pokémon trying to rest."

"That's no problem, this trainer was about to leave anyway," Paul angrily snapped in the woman's direction.

"Not without you I'm not! I want to see a battle!"

"I don't care what you-"

"Chan-cceeeeeey!"

Both Paul and Ash winced, covering their ears in pain as the Egg Pokémon suddenly burst through a door at the far end of the room and screeched loudly in their direction. On the Pallet trainer's shoulder, Pikachu squealed in shock, falling backwards to the floor. Out the corner of his eye, Paul saw the young-looking girl drop the receiver to her video call and run from the room in fright.

"Chancey is right!" Nurse Joy exclaimed, looking unusually angry now herself. "If you must argue, then argue out in the rain!" To empathise her point, the woman pointed at the door with one finger.

Deathly silence followed for a moment. Paul glared sideways at the trainer to his left, watching as Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head again.

"Heh, sorry about that Nurse Joy. It won't happen again I- hey, where are you going?" Ash exclaimed as Paul abruptly turned and began to stride toward the exit.

"Away from you."

"No way!" Paul stopped short as the trainer blocked his path. Paul growled under his breath, clenching both fists. Just like Reggie, always insisting on sticking his nose in where it didn't belong. Even his electric type had shot around his legs and was now stood tall at Ash's feet with both paws outstretched, trying its best to help its trainer prevent Paul from exiting despite its small stature.

"I'm not letting you leave Paul!" Ash shouted loudly, then gulped as he glanced guiltily over Paul's shoulder towards where no doubt a Nurse Joy and her Chancey were getting even more irate.

"I mean, what's your problem? What's the big deal about me just walking with you to the Battle Dome and watching your battle? I can tell you all kinds of useful stuff about the Frontier along the way too."

Paul held the stare for a moment, then sighed as another wave of grogginess hit him, suddenly finding himself unable to hold onto any resentment anymore. Why did he care so much anyway? And it was true, even Ash would probably be able to tell him at least something that might come in useful for the battle ahead. It didn't matter what he wanted anyway, because Paul knew Ash would never quit and would simply trail him if Paul continued to refuse.

"Fine," Paul muttered. "You can come and watch. This one time," Paul added quickly. "One battle, then you go back home."

"Sounds good to me Paul," Ash grinned back, flashing a thumbs up. Paul suppressed the urge to facepalm.

"Alright, let's go then."

"Wait, what, now?" Ash asked, looking surprised as Paul made to push past him. "You want to go now? It's already late..."

"Yes. Now. And it'll be even later if you keep asking pointless questions," Paul replied, already half-way out the door as he glanced back. "I said you could come, but I'm not waiting for you."

"Well, I hear ya Paul. I can never wait for a good battle either. But the thing is, Reggie made me promise to make sure you didn't go until tomorrow morning."

"Reggie said what?" Paul asked sharply, stepping back fully into the Centre and turning to face the trainer properly. "Why did he say that?"

Ash shuffled uneasily.

"Well, I dunno. He was pretty insistent about it though. And the Battle Dome, I dunno if you've heard, but they like to make a big deal about things over there," Ash said with a slight laugh. "Maybe Reggie's planned something, or-"

"I've had enough of my brother's plans," Paul answered, empathising the 'enough'. "Now, I'm going now, with or without you."

"Aww, c'mon Paul. What's one night gonna hurt? Besides, it's probably not a good idea to go back out in this weather right now," Ash added as he looked past Paul. "Look, normally I'd be right with ya, but Reggie seemed pretty insistent. Let's just chill here for the night and I can answer any questions you have about the Battle Frontier in the meanwhile. To be honest, I'm pretty hungry too, now I think about it. I wouldn't mind getting something to eat."

"I don't have time to just sit around," Paul snapped angrily again, finding himself caught in indecision as he looked from the rain hammering the outside of the glass doors to the heated and comforting environment of the Centre. And now he thought about it, Paul realised he was feeling exceptionally hungry himself. He'd obviously slept through the in-flight meal, which meant his last meal had been early that morning. Paul pushed the thought away forcefully.

"I'm starving though. C'mon, let's get something to eat and head out straight away in the morning."

"I have a battle to get to, and a Frontier to defeat! I'm not wasting an entire night here!"

"Well, then we won't. Why don't we just do some training here after eating? It wouldn't be a complete waste that way, and I could help you get ready for tomorrow." Ash suddenly brightened. "We could even have a practice battle if you wanted?"

Paul stopped for a moment, symbols, Frontier Brains and Reggie suddenly completely wiped from his mind. A battle? With Ash?

A rematch?

"We could have it outside. They have a practice field out the back of the Centre," Ash continued, grinning as Paul gave him his full attention. "C'mon, didn't I say we should battle again real soon, after the Sinnoh League? It'll be fun!"

"Pikah!" the small yellow mouse added, this time enthusiastically as it leapt back up to its trainer's shoulder.

Paul looked from one to the other. A chance for a rematch already. A large part of Paul instantly wanted to accept. A chance already to prove that last match was nothing but a fluke, sooner than he had ever dreamed possible. A chance to prove that the trainer in front of him hadn't won through a superior training style, but through something he seemed to carry endless supplies of. Sheer luck.

And there was more than just his defeat at the Sinnoh League which could be avenged here. After losing to Reggie only yesterday, here was a perfect chance to defeat a trainer who was nothing more in many ways than his brother from four years ago.

Although Reggie had lost the Battle Frontier, whereas Ash had conquered it. What was the difference between them? They both had the same idiotic approach to raising Pokémon. What did Ash have that Reggie had lacked, Paul wondered to himself.

But still, the logical part of his brain telling him it was bad idea to battle now. If he really was going to wait until tomorrow for his first Frontier Battle, which was looking more and more likely the longer he delayed here, then the last thing he needed was a team near exhausted from fierce full battle the night before.

And what if the unthinkable happened again, a voice suddenly whispered inside him. What if he lost to Ash again? There would be no room for pretending anymore if he lost to this trainer for a second time. Better take that excuse, and not risk finding out.

Paul clamped down on the thought angrily. But still, it didn't make sense to risk it. He was here for the Frontier. He would deal with Ash at a later date.

But still, Ash had a point, Paul thought as he stared again at the rapidly darkening sky outside. Even if he set off right at this instant, he wouldn't get to the Battle Dome before nightfall. The Veilstone trainer sighed in sudden defeat.

"No," Paul finally replied, instantly wiping the smile from his old rival's face. "I'm not going to battle, not tonight. With anyone," Paul added quickly as Ash opened his mouth again. "I'm going to get some food, then stay here for the night. You can tell me everything you know about the Frontier in the morning."

And with that, Paul walked away towards the front counter again, already opening his mouth to ask the still-watching Nurse Joy if there was a room available for the night.

"Ah, c'mon Paul. You were so eager to battle a minute ago. What changed? You're not scared of a little rematch with me, are you?"

Paul stopped short, his hands unconsciously clenching again as he heard Ash chuckle from behind him.

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. If you win, I'll tell you what kind of battle Tucker likes to have in the Battle Dome. If I win, you'll have to find out when you get there. Deal?"

No, he wouldn't give in to this. He wasn't about to rise to this. He had a battle in the morning, no matter how much he wanted to set things straight here and now.

"Paul? Is that a deal or what?"

"Fine!"

Paul span around. This felt forcefully like déjà vu. He'd fallen into this very trap only yesterday after all, and look where that had ended. But this time there would be no mistakes. Ash wasn't Reggie, and while a victory here in many ways would be the very definition of bittersweet, it would finally silence those persistent doubts once and for all.

But he still needed to be ready for the Frontier. As much as he wanted to defeat Ash here and now, Paul wanted Brandon defeated just as badly. So perhaps a compromise, until a better chance came along.

"Fine," Paul repeated in a more even tone. "I'll give you a one on one battle. I'm not going to waste any more time on this than I have to. My Pokémon need to be in top shape for whatever they face tomorrow."

"That's fine by me Paul!" Paul bit down a feeling of sudden amusement as Ash positively beamed back at him. "I haven't had a good battle since the Sinnoh League! I've been stuck in Pallet, and Gary's still in Sinnoh, not that you know who that is of course," Ash added hastily. "And Tracey, while he's a great friend, isn't much of a battler you know? Mind you, you wouldn't know who that is either, now I think about it..."

"Can we just get on with this?" Paul interrupted with a small sigh of exasperation. This felt like a bad idea already.

"Yeah, cool! I'll meet you out back in a minute, yeah?"

Paul watched as the Pallet trainer positively sprinted out the door into the falling rain outside, then for some reason even he couldn't fathom, felt himself smirk slightly.

Some people never change.

* * *

Here he was again. A battlefield chalked on the ground separated him from his rival. The trainer opposite was already giving him a cold stare, but he didn't care. Not even the howling wind and the sideways rain could dampen his spirits. This was a battle, and Ash loved everything about it.

His trusty starter was already in its 'battle mode', standing on all fours with a fierce, yet excited gleam in its eyes as it looked forward. Ash fidgeted, touching each of the Pokéballs on his belt. Only one Pokémon could be used, and Ash had six, each as loyal and dependable as the last. And Paul was just standing there, impassive, just waiting for him to make his move. For a moment, it almost felt like they were back in the stadium. Had it only been two weeks ago? Right now, it felt like a lifetime.

But Paul was no joke. And Ash knew if he was going to win against him again, then he should choose a Pokémon that had granted him the most success at overwhelming any obstacle no matter how large. Paul was clearly waiting for him to make the first choice, and Ash would rise to up that challenge, but he was under no illusions whatever creature Paul chose would be a tough hurdle to overcome. Not to mention Paul himself was a master at thinking up complex strategies Ash could barely fathom.

But on the other hand, who cared?

Whatever he faced, he would handle it. In many ways, Ash was at his most comfortable in battle when out of his comfort zone. The thrill of battle, facing impossible odds and finding a way to emerge victorious anyway, it was all part of the fun. And although the dream of Pokémon mastery was still as fresh now as it had been the day he'd first learned exactly what a Pokémon battle was, Ash wasn't even sure how he'd feel if the day ever came when he wasn't the underdog anymore.

Ash regretfully allowed his hand to drift away from the Pokéball attached second to last on his belt. Although it seemed fitting, on second thought it wouldn't be fair to throw that Pokémon up against its old master so soon, not after it was still on a high after winning against him the first time. And anyway, all other things aside, the rain stinging his cheeks wouldn't exactly be favourable to the creature he'd had in mind.

So if not that one, then really, when Ash could only choose one Pokémon, if there was only one choice that was permitted, then, it wasn't really a choice at all.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash cried out, pumping one fist across his body.

Like a thousand times before, Pikachu leapt forward, an excited "pikah pikah!" escaping the Pokémon's small lips at the pure excitement of being chosen for battle. The electric type slid to a halt a few metres to his front, cheeks crackling already from the pent-up electricity in its small body.

Ash grinned at the sight, then raised his eyes back to his rival.

So what would Paul choose?

"Torterra, standby!"

With a deep roar, the Continent Pokémon exploded onto the field in a blinding flash of light. Ash watched it for a moment, then felt his smile grow even wider as a sudden realisation shot through him.

"Starter versus starter? That's an awesome idea Paul!"

Paul made no reply. The trainer looked dead-serious. In a way, it reminded Ash of their first disastrous full battle by shores of Lake Acuity. Of course, Paul had every reason to be confident here. A ground type would be difficult indeed for Pikachu to deal with. But Ash didn't care. He'd overcome a type disadvantage in the very first gym he'd ever challenged after all, today would be no different. And while Torterra was obviously Paul's strongest Pokémon, it was also one Ash was more than familiar with, since he owned a Torterra himself and had battled this Torterra multiple times already.

But there seemed to be something different this time.

Ash frowned slightly as he took in every aspect of the Pokémon opposing him, then looked back to its trainer.

"Hey Paul, is Torterra okay?"

The tree on its back, unlike what Ash knew from his own Torterra, was devoid of any leaves and simply bare to the branch. And the green patches on its outer shell seemed darker, and more worn than usual. Even Torterra's general manner, the way it stood, the manner in which it held itself and the sight of its slightly laboured breathing, suggested a Pokémon that was already tired, before the battle had even started. Small signs for the most part, ones Ash probably wouldn't have even noticed if he hadn't raised that Pokémon's evolution line personally.

"Torterra's fine," Ash heard Paul call sharply back to him. "Worry about your own Pokémon."

Ash stared back at Paul, then looked back to Torterra. But, how could it be fine? It sure didn't look that way. In fact, Ash was becoming more and more certain the longer he looked at it, as he felt the anticipation to battle slowly drain away. Even a complete amateur would have commented on the lack of vegetation on its outgrowing tree. A cold pit seemed to form in his stomach. A strange mixture of fear and suspicion. A old memory shot through him, a Chimchar covered with bruises and scars, yet still forced out to battle.

But no. It couldn't be. Paul wouldn't do that again. Things were different now, and Ash had been more than prepared to let the past die in the feeling of triumph and comradely at the finale of their last clash.

Throughout the entire region, Ash had nothing but disliked the purple-haired trainer, but by its end, for a moment, Paul had begun to act different. At the end of the Sinnoh League, it had seemed for a moment as if Paul had changed.

But if what he was seeing today was true, if Paul had truly just sent an already injured Pokémon out to battle, his starter no less, then it would mean he hadn't changed at all. That losing at the hands of Infernape had done nothing to him.

But how could anyone ignore something like that?

Ash gave the trainer opposite a long hard stare, fighting against the sudden dread in his heart. He could already feel the old dislike begin to creep through his body, despite an inner voice telling him that he could still be wrong, that he could still be mistaken. Ash had wanted to believe Paul had changed, he still wanted to believe that. But if he chose to accept what his own eyes and mind was telling him, Ash wondered with a sudden flash of rage if he'd have just been better off just staying at home and being bored.

"Torr torr!"

Ash started, breaking out of his trance and looking back at the great grass Pokémon. Despite its appearance, Torterra seemed eager enough to battle. Of course, that was sometimes misleading. Infernape back as a Chimchar had often faked its eagerness in front of others to maintain face in front of this trainer.

What had he been thinking, coming back to meet this trainer again? He'd seen Paul act like this again and again, and just because of a five minute conversation after the Sinnoh League, he'd been naïve enough to think Paul had somehow changed?

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, looking back at him with questioning eyes, but Ash couldn't even answer.

A minute ago, he'd felt excited. Now he felt furious.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Ash suddenly yelled out. The howling wind only seemed to add emphasis to his words.

But Paul made no immediate effort to answer. For a long moment, both trainers just stood stock-still, staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity as the wind and the rain circled around them, with their two Pokémon looking at them both and each other with confusion.

"Did you really expect me to?" Ash heard Paul eventually murmur, just loud enough to be heard. Ash gasped. Despite the freezing precipitation, he felt like he was on fire. He was right. Paul wasn't questioning him. He wasn't confused. No, Paul knew exactly what he meant. Despite all his hopes, Paul was still the same. He was always the same. He would never change.

"Pikapi!"

Ash snapped his gaze again to his electric type. Pikachu was gesturing to itself, obviously oblivious to the thoughts raging through its trainer's head. His starter still wanted to battle. Even Torterra seemed to be fidgeting in impatience.

"Call your attack, Ash."

Ash looked back yet again to Paul. Stared at the trainer opposite stood nonchalantly despite the weather, hands in his pockets and a face completely blank of any expression as water dripped from his chin and nose. The anger had gone now. Now the fury had been replaced. All Ash felt now was sheer hatred.

The trainer opposite was everything he despised, and even proved wrong, had still refused to change.

"No."

"What? Call your attack Ash!"

"NO!"

Ash took a couple of steps forward, fighting wildly against the urge to run over and battle the teenager opposite with his own bare hands instead. Below, he heard Pikachu call out to him again, this time in concern. Even Torterra seemed shocked by his outburst.

"Pikachu, return!"

"Pika, pikapi?"

"Return! Now!"

Although with clear reluctance and obvious bewilderment, Pikachu turned and hopped obediently back to his side, then scarpered up to his shoulder. Ash waited a moment to give Pikachu a chance to securely seat itself, then strode forward as quickly as he could without running, straight across the sodden battlefield, straight past a totally confused Torterra, before coming to a sudden halt directly to Paul's front. The purple-haired trainer still showed no reaction, but Ash could see the puzzlement in his eyes. He still had no idea.

"You're... forfeiting?"

His rival's tone said it all. Paul didn't even know what he'd done wrong, Ash realised, let alone feel sorry for it. Ash had once sworn never to lose to this trainer because of the style of training he'd seen him use. But now even that wasn't enough anymore.

"I'm never battling you again, Paul. You're on your own."

And with that, he was gone, leaving Paul alone in the rain.

* * *

x - x - x - x - x

* * *

Reggie sighed as he thumbed a text into the Pokégear in his hands. Paul still hadn't called, and Reggie knew it had been over three hours since his flight had been due to land in Saffron. Not that this was in the least bit unexpected. Paul had never been one for calling without a purpose behind it, and probably thought Reggie wanting him to call to assure him of his safety was patronising at best.

"I still can't believe you called Ash of all people to help Paul find his way," Maylene said, sitting at the other side of the kitchen table and blowing lightly into a cup of hot chocolate she held cupped in both hands. "I'm surprised Ash even agreed, I didn't think those two liked each other much."

"He seemed pretty enthusiastic about it when I asked him a few days ago," Reggie replied, finishing the message and stabbing the send button. Of course, that was probably the real reason Paul wasn't answering his calls, or returning his messages. He'd expected Paul would be less than pleased with his choice of 'tour guide'. With a small sense of amusement, Reggie tried to picture what his brother's reaction probably had been.

"Wish I could have seen his face though," Maylene said, as if reading Reggie's thoughts. The gym leader was smiling slightly as she took a small cautionary sip of the drink in her hands. "But I still don't understand why you did it Reg."

"Paul needs a positive influence close by," Reggie answered, giving the blank screen of his Pokégear one last glance, before placing it face down on the wooden surface at his front. "And if there was ever one person Paul couldn't help but pay attention to, it's Ash Ketchum."

"I wish Ash luck then."

"Me too." Reggie sighed again, leaning on both elbows as he looked out the kitchen window above the sink. "I suppose I should go pack too. I want to leave for Snowpoint first thing in the morning. The sooner I get going, the sooner I can get back."

"Well, you take as much time as you need," Maylene replied, giving the teenager opposite a tired smile. "I'll handle everything here. You just worry about your family."

"Thanks Mayl-"

_"Ring ring ring, ring ring ring, phonecall phonecall! Ring ring ring, ring ring ring, phonecall phonecall! Ring ring ring, ring rin-!"_

Reggie jumped, jolting the table. Opposite him, Maylene likewise started, resulting in some of the brown liquid to splash on the table top. The breeder gave his Pokégear a surprised, yet hopeful look, before snatching the vibrating object from the table. Paul was actually calling. Surprising, but no less welcome. Reggie quickly pressed the green button, watching as the miniature screen flickered to life revealing a tiny face.

"Paul! Hey bro, where have you be-"

Reggie stopped dead. It wasn't Paul.

"Reggie! I'm so glad you picked up!"

"Wait," Reggie squinted as the tiny face on screen. "Is that... Sam? Wow, it's been a while. What are you calling me for?" Reggie asked in surprise, finally recognising his father's right hand man and top referee at the Battle Pyramid. "I mean, it's great to see you, how have you be-?"

"Reggie, there isn't time!" Sam interrupted suddenly. "I'm sorry, but this is an emergency. You have to get your things together and come to Snowpoint right now!"

"Wait what?" Reggie swapped bewildered expressions with Maylene, before looking back at the tiny screen in his hand, already feeling sudden dread build up in his heart. "I actually was about to- Why? Sam, what's happened? Why are you calling me?"

"There's no time to explain Reggie but," Reggie watched with increasing concern as the referee seemed to take a deep breath, visibly attempting to control himself. "It's Brandon. There's been a terrible accident!"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Hey everyone! A small cliffhanger for you there. Call it a late Christmas present if you like :P

How'd you find that one, eh? Anyone see Ash making an appearance in this story so soon? It's an idea I had from the start, to expand on the whole "When every life meets another" thing. Ash won't be here for the the entire story, but I think it makes a change to have him as a travelling companion or a recurring character instead of the hero. Saying that, I had fun writing his POV. I found it easier than Paul anyway haha. The nice thing about setting the story at this time between the Sinnoh series and the Unova series is there's a nice blank period not covered by the anime in which I can do more or less anything with the characters and (short of killing Ash) keep within canon. Sad as it is, I doubt Paul will ever make an appearance in the anime again.

I hope I'm not making Paul sound like too much of a jerk here. I'm trying to justify it, but the whole idea behind this entire fic is the idea that what happened at the Sinnoh League is the beginning of the change (if he ever does change :P) in Paul's character. He's not doing so well now, but hopefully he'll see the light later. But hey, we'll see what happens.

Mistace Spotter List of Honour

*Guest. -Whoever you are, I just want to thank you for that hilarious review. You not only pointed out a mistake, but you did it in the form of a joke. That's my kind of review! :P. Please keep pointing them out if you can, it really helps.

*jg13145

Remember guys, anyone who spots a mistake in this chapter gets a mention in the next. I want to become a better writer guys, and the only way I'll achieve that is if you guys give me a hard time over any mistakes you see. The plot is my own of course, but anything else is fair game. Thanks a lot!

Any and all reviews are very welcome. I WILL reply to every review before the next chapter goes out. Guest reviewers will get thanked in the next chapter's AN. I hope to get the next chapter up by next weekend again, but if I don't, it'll definitely be up by the weekend after. As always, I'm available for PM and if I foresee any delay, I'll leave a message on my profile.

Thanks a lot for reading, and see you again soon!


	4. Sleepless Situations

Hello everyone! Chapter four time. AN are at the end again, I think it's better that way to be honest. This one's a little shorter than the first three, but hope you still enjoy it regardless!

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"A terrible accident?"

Three repeated words that seemed to wipe all other thought from his head.

"What do you mean? Is Dad okay?"

A small knot of fear seemed to emerge from nowhere as the Pokégear in his hands gave no immediate answer back. A tiny fist closed itself around his heart as the miniature face on screen just stared wordlessly back.

"Sam..." Reggie paused for a moment, suddenly aware of how hard and fast his heart was beating. "What- Sam, Dad's okay though, right? I mean, he's still... alive though I mean?"

"Reggie..." Reggie gaped back in sudden horror at the face on screen. He recognised that tone of voice. The way a person speaks when they're delivering news of the worst kind. Suddenly old feelings began flooding his body, rampaging through his very blood stream.

No, it can't happen again, surely. It must be some kind of trick, or mistake.

"Sam, what-?"

"We don't know," the Pyramid referee finally answered back quickly. "I don't know Reggie, we-"

"How can you not know?" Reggie demanded suddenly, gripping the Pokégear with even more force, before forcing himself to let go of the breath he suddenly realised he'd been holding. "I mean, Sam, what is going on? I don't understand, please just tell me what happened."

"It was the temple Reggie! You know we've been rebuilding it." Reggie gave a quick nod in confirmation, paying rapt attention. "Well, we pretty much had it finished. Everyone had pulled out of there. We were just waiting on your dad, he told us he was working on some project in one of the deepest chambers. I would have stayed, but he ordered me to leave."

"What was he doing in there?"

"I don't know, I don't..." the referee trailed off, looking desperate.

"Reggie, he ordered me to leave. I would have stayed but he said he wanted to be alone," the referee continued in a pleading tone.

"Yeah, okay, but what happened then? What was this accident exactly?"

"Well, we were all waiting in the Pyramid. We waited for what seemed like ages, almost all afternoon. It was strange, because usually we'd still be with Brandon, even if he didn't need any help. I was about to go back anyway and make sure Brandon really didn't need help with anything, but then the ground just started shaking! And when we rushed outside, we saw the entire temple had just collapsed in on itself!"

Reggie gasped. The cup in Maylene's hand fell out of her hand completely this time.

"And Dad was inside?!"

"We don't know what happened to your father, but he must be trapped inside, maybe under the rubble..." Reggie watched Sam take a breath. "Candice and her Pokémon are trying to help move the debris, along with all the Pyramid and temple staff, but you need to come here as fast as you can. Paul too."

"Paul's not here right now," Reggie hesitated.

Suddenly panic exploded, along with a surge of that special feeling of dread he'd only ever felt once before. He was barely even aware of the gym leader's shocked eyes boring into him from the other side of the small table. His whole world at that moment seemed revolve around the small object he held in his hands.

This can't happen again. Not again. And Paul! How would he ever tell him? If both his parents-

"No," Reggie snapped suddenly, more to himself than anyone else. "No, he's not. Dad's fine, he's tougher than that."

But even as he spoke the words, Reggie knew it was a lie. Even the toughest people could die in simple accidents, as he and Paul knew too well. Paul. Reggie heart felt like it was about to explode. What if the worst happened, had happened? How would Paul take it? How could this happen twice to them?

"I know that, but I still think you need to get to Snowpoint as soon as possible. We just don't know. It might be that your Dad is perfectly fine, just trapped inside, but in any case, we could use the extra help to get him out."

"But I-" Reggie glanced around helplessly. "How Sam? The roads are inaccessible around Snowpoint this time of year and it's going to take me at least a week to get there by other means. By the time I get there, it might be too-"

"No it won't be Reggie," the face on screen interrupted back. "I know all that already, that's why I decided to come to you."

"You're coming to me?"

"That's right. In fact, I've already set off and I'm almost there. Get your things together and I'll see you in approximately five minutes."

The Pokégear went dead.

Reggie stared at the device in his hand, as if hoping it would come back to life and give him more information. Hoping it would come on and tell him everything was all right. It was true, Reggie hadn't seen his father in over a year now. But still, the knowledge he was out there, somewhere, had been enough. Now though, Reggie like he was teetering on the edge of a giant precipice.

How could things change so much in such little time? Dropping Paul off at the airport that morning felt like years ago now.

He became vaguely aware of a small hand tugging at his. Somewhere far away someone was saying something, but Reggie still couldn't move. He couldn't handle this, why did this keep happening to them? Hadn't they been through enough already?

"Reggie, come on!"

The breeder started slightly as something suddenly hit him, finally looking up with eyes that didn't quite feel like his. Maylene was already running out of the small kitchen behind him towards the staircase.

"I'll get you some clothes. Reggie, get your Pokémon!"

Reggie looked down almost feeling bemused at the sight of the empty green sports bag now lying open on the table in front of him, a small part of him figuring out that Maylene must have just chucked it at him.

What seemed like only a moment later, Maylene was back, shoving various items of clothing into the small bag.

"Reggie! Pokémon!"

"Oh, yeah right," Reggie replied distractedly, the stern reminder finally snapping him out of his momentary daze. The breeder leapt to his feet, looking around for his creatures' Pokéballs before remembering he kept them all in a locked cupboard over by the fridge.

Reggie swiftly crossed the room and opened the wooden cabinet, his confused mind struggling to make a decision. Obviously take Infernape's capsule, and Staraptor and Swalot were also obvious choices. Drapion? It was getting a little old now, but was still strong enough to be useful. Bibarel on the other hand was fairly inexperienced, a Pokémon that Reggie had only been half-training in his spare time ever since it turned up on his doorstep several months ago. But it still might be useful if he needed to traverse water for whatever reason, being a part water type.

Reggie cursed to himself silently. Sam hadn't given him much information, but if his dad needed digging out from the ruins of a collapsed temple, it would be better to take everyone he could to help. And these few were all the Pokémon he had left. Reggie snatched up all the five capsules. They were all empty, but Reggie would collect them as soon as he went outside to catch his ride. Whatever that 'ride' was. Although Reggie thought he had a good idea of what the referee had meant.

Reggie stared at the Pokéballs in his hands. Alakazam could have just teleported him to Snowpoint instantly. And Steelix would have been ideal for any tunnelling. Why did he-?

Reggie dismissed the thought. He'd just have to work with who he had left.

His thoughts took another abrupt jolt. Infernape was now at his feet somehow, and tugging at his leg with concerned eyes. Faintly, he could hear Maylene already outside the front door yelling for the others to come.

"Infernape, we're going to Snowpoint earlier than I said. There's been trouble, I'll explain when I have time. Infernape, return," Reggie muttered, watching his starter turn to red light, then, shouldering the large bag, walked outside to collect the others. A moment after entering the night, Staraptor fluttered down to his shoulder, followed by his remaining team. Reggie gave them all a small smile before withdrawing the lot into their respective Pokéballs without a word.

The stars outside were in full show, and a half-crescent moon lit up most of the surrounding area, giving the crator-filled backyard an eerily feel. Reggie shivered slightly, giving the surrounding wood-line an apprehensive glance, before looking back up to the sky. Maylene stood at his side.

"Have you got everything you need?"

"I think so. I'll just..." Reggie hesitated. "I'll just have to see what the... the situation is when I get there."

"Do you need help? I can send the gym's Pokémon to you, they can help. I wish I hadn't sent Lucario back now, he could have gone with you."

"I don't think there's time to go get him now," Reggie answered. "From the sound of it, Sam's coming to pick me up and if he's coming in what I think he is, then it won't be long. I'll just have to make the best with who I have for now."

A long silence followed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Maylene still staring at him. Silently the gym leader took his hand as they waited.

A low humming slowly grew from the quiet of the night. Reggie looked to the horizon, searching hard. A dot in the distance, a tiny pinprick of light was steadily growing brighter and brighter than the stars around it. The breeder gave a slight nod to himself, his suspicions confirmed.

"Here it comes."

The humming grew and grew until it became a thunderous roar. Startled Starly and Staravia scattered in every direction as the dot of light grew into a huge metal structure with many lights beaming in all directions. Trees shook at its approach, great gasps of leaves flew from their branches into the air, and were instantly blasted away by the four huge turbines at each of the ship's corners. White moonlight reflected from its smooth forward facing side.

True to its name, the giant flying object looked like a huge silver pyramid, with each turbine moving independently of each other as it manoeuvred itself through the air. Reggie and Maylene ducked slightly as the Frontier facility screamed overhead, steering itself over the wooden house to a open area of grassland on the far side. Reggie couldn't help but smile wryly as lights began to flicker on in the houses neighbouring to the left and right, with a few angry exclamations swiftly following. As impressive as it was to see, subtle the Battle Pyramid was not.

The flying building was gigantic, many times taller than the trees around it, and easily wider than Reggie's small house by ten or fifteen times.

Running together, Reggie and Maylene quickly crossed the distance to the ship as it lowered slowly towards the earth, blasting dust and loose vegetation into its surroundings as it landed heavily on the ground. A large doorway was beginning to open up near its base even as the Pyramid touched ground, falling like a giant metal drawbridge and revealing a person already waiting.

"Reggie!"

"I have to go," Reggie said loudly over the noise of the still-running engines as he turned to his girlfriend. "Maylene, I..."

"It's fine." Maylene gave him a swift hug, then pushed him away towards the Pyramid. "Take care Reggie. And when you get a chance, call me. Especially if you need any help."

"I will," the breeder called back over his shoulder as he began to swiftly move forward. "Thanks Mayls!"

The Battle Pyramid on the inside was the same as on the outside, bland and metallic-looking. Reggie nodded at the man waiting to greet him as he hurried past, and moved forward into the ship's interior. Immediately, Reggie felt a sudden lurch as the floor beneath him suddenly seemed to jump back into the air. Looking behind him as he balanced himself against corridor wall, he could see through the now-closing mechanical drawbridge they were already back in the air and above the tree tops. Reggie fought down another surge of apprehension. If they were in this much of a hurry, then Sam obviously viewed the situation as very serious.

No, Reggie told himself as he stumbled forward again while attempting to brace himself against the flying ship's sudden movements. Let's just get there first. He could worry later.

Memories seemed to come rushing back as he ran from corridor to corridor through the literal labyrinth towards the very top of the Pyramid. He hadn't stepped foot in this place since Paul's challenge at Snowpoint, and before that it had been four years since Reggie's challenge. Yet even so, Reggie could remember this place all too well. How different things had seemed back then, with a belt full of powerful friends and the excitement of completing the Frontier on the very tip of his tongue.

Nothing but a pipe dream. Reggie couldn't help pausing as he passed the doorway to the spectators' seating to the main battle arena. Below, the huge battlefield lay in gloomy shadow.

"_Now, where is your true inner strength?"_

Reggie grimaced and tore himself away from the sight. It didn't matter, it was the past. And right now, all that mattered was the present.

What seemed like a few hours later, but in actual fact was only a few minutes, Reggie finally panted his way to the top of a final set of stairs, and facing another steel barrier, pressed a small red button on the wall to his right. A moment later, the doorway split in two and with a '_whoosh_' disappeared into the walls at either side.

"Sam!"

The Pyramid's second in command twisted around from the ship's giant wheel in the very centre of the room, letting go of it with both hands. However, this seemed to have no effect on the ship, a small part of Reggie's mind noted. He could see through the large window that took up most of the far wall that they hadn't changed course. In fact, now they looked to be very high in the air. The twinkling lights of the unknown towns and cities seemed like a long way away down below.

Despite his station, the man stood to his front was dressed almost casually, only in a beige pair of trousers and buttoned shirt. A light blue handkerchief covered his head. Someone who Reggie rarely saw, but had always been on good terms with, probably due to them being similar ages when they had first met. The referee had in fact only just began his job at the Pyramid when Reggie had challenged it the first time around.

Aside from Sam, there was only two other people in the room, both working at the long control panel that stretched around half the room underneath front screen, neither one paying him any attention as they worked. Reggie vaguely recognised both as his father's employees.

"Reggie, glad you're here," Sam replied quickly, although seeming to be looking for something at Reggie's behind. "Paul not come?"

"I told you, he wasn't home," Reggie said as he moved to join his old friend by the wheel, clasping his offered hand briefly. "He left this morning in fact. Bad timing I guess, or good, depending on how you look at it," the breeder finished grimly. "So tell me, what's going on?"

"Well I'll tell you as much as I know, although I'm still trying to work it out myself," Sam replied with an apprehensive-sounding laugh. "Well, you know we've been working on the restoration of Snowpoint temple for the past four months, ever since the disturbance of Regigigas, right?"

"Yeah, I heard all about that," Reggie muttered. "It even got a mention in the news in fact. And Dad mentioned something about it in our last video call. I was quite a few miles away at the time though with Paul, so I never did hear about it until later. I remember I was helping Paul train for his and Ash's battle at Lake Acuity."

"Well, Brandon managed to calm down Regigigas eventually, along with those kids, Ash and his friends. But not before the entire temple was destroyed, thanks to Hunter J and her goons."

"Yeah," Reggie nodded. "I hear the police are still looking for her. Although if they haven't found her already, I doubt they will now."

"Well, there's all kinds of rumours about her whereabouts. There's even this new one that she might even have died in some strange accident. But regardless, her plan to capture Regigigas failed and Regigigas was returned back to the temple. I have to say though, those kids were a big help."

"Yeah, they tend to get around." Reggie chuckled slightly despite himself. "Dad seemed quite fond of Ash when I saw them together. Suppose that's no surprise, being so young and still managing to defeat him. Even I couldn't believe it when Ash first said it."

It was no wonder Brandon was sometimes distant with his sons, Reggie thought to himself. His father had lost to a boy who was a year younger than Reggie had been himself when when he'd made his only challenge to the Pyramid. The same age as Paul when he had also lost. Seeing another young man succeed where both his own sons had failed would probably make any father a little disappointed. Ash was undoubtedly what Brandon had hoped Reggie to be after all.

"Yeah, well it took him a few attempts, but he got there eventually. Although it was quite an lucky match," Sam answered, his amused tone sounding as if he didn't quite buy the idea that the Pallet trainer had won through anything other than mostly good fortune. As if to prove that point, he added, "Ash didn't exactly face the same odds that Paul did."

"Well, Paul wasn't battling Dad as a Frontier Brain, was he? He challenged Dad directly, so naturally Dad would use his full power against him," Reggie said with tight lips. "But anyway, that doesn't matter. You haven't finished telling me about what actually happened to Dad, Sam."

They were above the ocean now, next to the coast. Off to the east, Reggie could just make out the silhouette of Mount Coronet against the gleaming moon.

"Yeah, well as I was saying," Sam continued, the worried look on his face returning, "we've been working non-stop at restoring the temple ever since it got destroyed. And well, we finished it. But for some reason, Brandon decided that we should remain here a little longer."

"What?" Reggie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But why? Doesn't Dad need to be back in Kanto? I've have Scott call up the house multiple times trying to reach him."

"Yeah, and he's been leaving messages here too. But your father insisted we remain behind for just a little while longer. In fact, it's almost been a month now since we completed the restoration."

"A whole month? Doesn't Dad know he needs to be back at Kanto? Scott's not going to wait forever. Why would he even want to stay?"

"He knows, but he still commanded the ship to remain. He wouldn't say why exactly. But I think it has something to do with Regigigas, and his three Regi legendaries. At least, that's where he's been spending all his time, in Regigigas's and now Regirock's, Registeel's and Regice's chamber."

"Wait." Reggie frowned at the referee. "Why are Dad's Pokémon in Regigigas's chamber too?"

"Huh?" The referee seemed confused. "But that's where they are all staying now, your father had to leave his three legendaries there to protect Regigigas. Didn't he tell you that?"

"No," Reggie exclaimed, feeling stunned. "He didn't mention anything like that to me. We talked, right after Ash and Paul's battle. He never mentioned anything about his legendary Pokémon, just told me briefly what had happened with Regigigas and that he was staying behind to help with the restoration. You said he had to leave them there? As in, give them all up?"

"Well, yeah. It was part of the legend of the temple, your Dad was trying to fulfil it. Er, wow." The referee looked equally shocked. "I wonder why he didn't tell you about it."

"Me too," Reggie replied quietly, suddenly deep in thought. Why wouldn't his father tell him about something this important? This was a big deal. Brandon was famous worldwide for his legendary trio. Had he being trying to hide it from everyone? But why? The press would probably be all over him when this news broke, but his Dad had never claimed to care much for such things. Could it really be as simple as Brandon just didn't want to admit to his sons and the world that his team was now three legendaries weaker?

Possible, but somehow it didn't fit. As obsessed as Reggie could remember his father being at becoming stronger at certain points during Reggie's childhood, it had never been his style to try and cover up his weaknesses. In fact, the Pyramid King was even known to sometimes reveal his Pokémon line up before a battle, to encourage challengers to try to find and exploit any supposed vulnerability.

Suddenly another thought crept into Reggie's mind seemingly all by itself. Brandon no longer had Regirock. The Pokémon solely responsible for Reggie's total defeat all those years ago. What if Brandon hadn't had Regirock back then? Would the result have been any different? Could... Could it be any different now if he-

Reggie cut off the thought, suddenly feeling angry at himself. His father's safety was the most important thing right now, and besides, he'd left that life behind a long time ago.

"Sam, what happened then?" Reggie repeated, firmly pushing the thought away. "You said he was in Regigigas's chamber alone, and then what?"

"We were all in the Pyramid," Sam picked up swiftly. "There was no more work to be done. In one way, that was the thankful thing about it, so there wasn't anyone else in the temple at the time. It was just Brandon alone. And then suddenly out of nowhere, the ground just started shaking, you know? Like a minor earthquake, which might be believable if Snowpoint had ever had a single earthquake in all its recorded history. Anyway, we all rushed outside, and the temple was utterly destroyed. Well, at least the entrance was," Sam added quickly. "The temple itself extends underground, so the inner chambers and tunnels may be still intact. But we have no way of knowing one way or the other, or actually getting in there until the rumble is cleared."

So there was a chance then his father was okay and simply just trapped inside then, Reggie thought to himself with a tiny wave of relief.

"But, I don't get it," Reggie said. "What caused the earthquake in the first place?"

"Nobody knows," the referee answered in a hushed tone. "But get this Reggie, we contacted Officer Jenny at Snowpoint City. And gauging roughly from the strength of the earthquake from different spots, we think the epicentre of the earthquake was the temple itself. So..."

"So whatever Dad's been up to might have been the cause of the earthquake," Reggie finished, catching onto what his old friend was saying. "He might even have caused it."

"Exactly," Sam said quietly. "And if it has to do with Regigigas... Maybe it woke back up again. We just don't know."

"Dad wouldn't have woken Regigigas back up intentionally though, surely? It might have just been some sort of accident."

"I agree with you," Sam replied. "I don't believe Brandon would have intentionally woken Regigigas back up again without good reason, not after everything we went through to put it back to sleep again. But as you say, accidents happen. The temple was so ancient, and many mysterious legends surround it, not all about Regigigas. There are still many things we do not know. Perhaps it was one of those things the Pyramid King was investigating, and something went wrong."

"Well, if the earthquake was truly caused by something within the temple, then that much is certain. Something definitely went wrong," Reggie finished grimly.

Both fell silent now, listening quietly to the various beeps and tones of the electronics around them. The ocean below had disappeared. In fact, now there were very few hints of what might be in the black abyss down below. From this, Reggie suspected they might now be drawing close. Due to the extreme weather, few people lived this far north in Sinnoh outside of the population of Snowpoint City itself.

Reggie couldn't help but marvel slightly at the ability of his father's flying ship. A distance it would have taken him a week to cover by foot, yet less than an hour ago he'd been standing in his back yard with Maylene.

The breeder fought down the urge to yawn as the minutes continued to pass silently by. He had no idea how late it was. Briefly he wondered what Paul was doing right now. Probably asleep, or preparing for his first battle tomorrow. Maylene would almost definitely be still awake worrying. Reggie resolved to call her as soon as he arrived in Snowpoint and saw the situation himself. And Paul too, if he could catch him before his battle.

And his father? What was Brandon doing right now? Was he awake and desperately trying to dig himself out? Or was he trapped somewhere, injured, unable to-

Stop it, Reggie told himself firmly. There was no point in panicking. And Reggie firmly believed his father was fine, and like Sam said, just trapped within the deeper chambers of the temple. If he starting thinking otherwise, he would be no use to anyone.

Again, Reggie's thoughts drifted back to Paul. Would he have even come along if he had still been at home? Yes, Reggie believed he would have. If nothing else, Paul was dependable in his own way. Although probably not without complaint, Reggie believed he would have come to help. Probably would have been more use too, with his arsenal of powerful Pokémon on command.

Maybe he should have borrowed one of his brother's Pokémon before leaving. Oh well, too late now, Reggie thought.

But Reggie couldn't help but dread the phone call he would have to make in the morning. Perhaps he should leave it until the afternoon, after Paul would have had his battle. Yes, Reggie decided he would do that. There was nothing Paul could do in Kanto after all. Unless the situation was absolutely urgent, he would postpone the news until afterwards. It was just a shame he would no longer be able to watch his brother's match on television like he'd originally planned.

They had to getting close now. In fact, he could just make out a mass of yellow lights on the horizon now, where the twinkling stars met the line of the earth. If he was right, that would be Snowpoint City, and right next to it, the temple.

* * *

x - x - x - x - x

* * *

Paul twisted back over. It was already beginning to get light outside, Pidgey and Spearow were chirping endlessly just outside his room's window. Paul twisted back the other way, then with a quiet groan, finally gave up his night-long struggle and sat up in his bed, brushing a handful of purple hair from his face as he looked blearily over at his Pokégear clock.

Already six-thirty. Well, that's great, Paul thought miserably to himself.

While any normal teenager his age would have considered that time for getting up idiotic at best, Paul knew he needed to be making tracks. The Dome was at least a couple of hours walking distance away, and ideally Paul wanted to defeat it and make a good distance towards the next battle facility before the end of the day.

But that wouldn't be easy. While it was beginning to get light here, Sinnoh was two hours behind. Which would have meant under any normal circumstances that his body clock would take a night or two to get used to the sudden change.

But Paul hadn't been able to sleep at all. He'd felt exhausted enough, he'd had a early morning the day before after all. Under any normal circumstances he'd have been able to drift off at almost any time.

But for various reasons, his mind simply hadn't allowed it. Paul wearily climbed out of bed and stumbled his way towards the on-suite shower and sink, quickly stripping off and stepping under the warm water in an attempt to wake himself up. It was partially successful, but with the revival of his mind came the revival of his memories of the day before.

Why Ash of all people, Paul wondered silently to himself as he leaned against the tiled wall and simply allowed the water to crash down on his head and bare shoulders. Why did Reggie have to pick Ash of all people?

He hadn't even been wrong either. Ash had obviously objected on the grounds that he believed sending out an already weakened Pokémon was cruel. In that sense, Paul could understand why he might have gotten angry.

But Ash had never been able to see Paul's reasoning anyway. Pokémon needed to be pushed to their limits in order to bring out their true power, after all. Paul had done this many times with many Pokémon to great success. By not pampering to a Pokémon's weakness, it forces them to adapt and overcome it.

And besides, he'd been doing his starter a favour anyway. Torterra needed a chance to prove itself again after its loss at the hands of Reggie's Infernape. His Pokémon had probably been grateful for the opportunity.

It was good training anyway. What, was he supposed to allow Torterra a small holiday after every tough battle? It was kinder if anything to force his Pokémon to fight past those weaknesses, so it would be capable of pushing itself that little bit further the next time.

And it wasn't as if he that thrown it against anything too challenging anyway, Paul thought as he stepped out of the shower and brushed his teeth in the sink with a vigour, staring at his own reflection in the wall-fitted mirror as he did. Pitting Torterra against a Pikachu was overkill by anyone's estimation, even if it was a slightly fatigued Torterra. Paul had half-expected Ash to send out his Infernape to begin with, just because it seemed like an 'Ash' thing to do, but when the trainer sent out Pikachu, Paul hadn't seen any point in reconsidering his choice.

So why did these same thoughts keep going round and round his head, denying even the possibility of any sleep? Paul knew he was right, even had perfectly reasonable arguments that he had proven right time and time again throughout his Pokémon career. Why couldn't he just ignore Ash, and simply continue on his way?

Because Ash had beaten him.

Paul spat the toothpaste out of his mouth sourly. Enough of this, Paul thought as he wiped his mouth clean, then dried the rest of his body. He was sick of these persistent thoughts and doubts that kept coming back and back. It was time he got moving, Paul thought as he looked about for his clothes and belongings, and claim his first Frontier Symbol. Time to leave his past, including Ash Ketchum, behind him.

x - x - x - x - x

The streets were near enough deserted outside. Paul stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and moved swiftly down the pavement. In one way, it would have been a lot easier if Ash had been here to guide him. He had technically lost their battle after all, Paul thought a little bitterly as he quickly consulted his Pokégear map. Not that he was overly complaining though. Ash was probably well on his way back to Pallet Town by now anyway, and Paul was very grateful of that fact.

A couple of kids suddenly ran past him. Paul looked up, surprised, but the children just continued on their way. A boy and a girl, both laughing excitedly. Maybe beginning trainers, Paul thought as he walked after them. They looked roughly the age. It was pretty early though. Only just coming up to seven am, Paul saw as he glanced at his Pokégear again. His stomach suddenly gave a low grumble. Paul frowned to himself, suddenly realising he'd completely forgotten about breakfast. Well, he could eat after his battle, it wasn't a big deal. Not like he'd never missed a breakfast before anyway.

Paul continued walking, lost in his own personal thoughts as he slowly made his way towards the outskirts of the city. The Dome was on the western edge, according to his brother, and Paul figured it would probably be signposted as he got closer. Reggie had mentioned something about it being popular after all, and Paul had even noticed some posters hanging up in the Pokémon Centre itself. Quite a few actually, now he thought about it. He'd just been too tired to remember to have a closer look at them this morning, and too absorbed in his own thoughts when he'd eventually followed Ash back inside after their cancelled battle the night before. Which brought him back to-

_HONK HONNNNNKKKK!_

Paul leapt sideways back onto the pavement as a car whizzed past him, followed by two more. He hadn't even noticed he'd been drifting off towards the road. Freaking traffic, Paul thought to himself angrily as yet more cars flew by. Still, he needed to get a grip of himself. Tired or not, Paul didn't think much of the idea of returning back to Sinnoh the day after he'd arrived with his leg in a cast.

Finally reaching a crossroads about fifteen minutes later, Paul scanned all four signposts and was relieved to see _Battle Dome _on the third exit. Yet more cars seemed to be whizzing by, and there seemed to be quite a few people walking along the streets now, most of them strangely heading in the same direction. Paul dodged around what looked like another gaggle of excited ten-year-olds and hurried on his way.

It was getting close to rush hour after all, maybe they were all just going to work. Well, at least the adults might be, Paul thought as he watched more and more people begin to emerge from all directions. About thirty minutes of walking later and Paul spotted another signpost pointing right. The trainer glanced around himself again, becoming a little more uneasy as he noticed everyone else and nearly all the traffic that was now a more or less constant flow now was making the same turn.

Could all these people be going to the Battle Dome too, Paul wondered silently to himself. But they couldn't all be challenging trainers surely. Paul hoped not anyway, otherwise he'd probably never get to challenge it in this century, let alone today. But the idea was absurd anyway. The Battle Frontier was a very prestigious challenge, open to only the very best trainers. The idea of a ten year old taking on the Frontier was laughable.

But if they weren't going to challenge the Dome, then what? A slow suspicion began to grow in Paul's mind. Reggie had said this place was very popular, but at the time, Paul hadn't bothered looking too deeply into his brother's words.

Now though, Paul felt comprehension begin to dawn upon him. Not all of these people that were now literally crowding the pavement either side of him could be trainers. So why would a place like the Battle Dome be popular with them? What was the attraction exactly?

Hemmed in now by what was now literally hordes of people, Paul found himself steered round a final corner and then stopped dead, causing the people behind to swear angrily and curve around him. Paul didn't care though. He was too busy gaping at the sight in front of him.

Huge.

A huge dome-like structure lay around five hundred metres directly ahead, sat on its own well away from the other buildings amidst a mass of empty space and concrete. A wide sparkling river sat to its rear, shining beautifully in the morning sun. The building itself was, well, huge. Paul could think of no other way to describe it. As wide as the Sinnoh League championship stadium, and the Dome's peak was easily taller than the uppermost edges of the stadium's walls had been.

But even that wasn't the reason he was gaping that much. And then it suddenly clicked. Why Reggie had instructed Ash not to let him leave until the morning after. Why so many people were still walking past him to the left and right, and why cars were now angrily blaring their horns as they found themselves stuck in this queue that stretched the length of this narrow road leading towards Paul's first intended Frontier challenge.

He'd been set up from the very start.

They were all here, to see... him.

News helicopters whirred over-head, circling the Battle Dome constantly. A mass of people crowded the building from all sides, excited shouts and screams were filled the air. It was blatantly obvious now. Paul inwardly screamed at himself for not realising it sooner. The Battle Dome was popular because it offered a very popular attraction. And with a name like that, there was only one attraction that could be. And Reggie had told Ash to keep Paul from challenging until this morning. It all added up.

Everyone was here to watch his battle.

Paul stood frozen to the point, unable to move forward or backwards from the road's main entrance. How long had Reggie been planning this?! First Paul had found out Reggie had booked the flight tickets the night before he'd even asked him, then he'd learned that his brother had apparently asked Ash a full three days ago to meet him at Saffron. And now this? An event of this scale must have been weeks in the planning. Had Reggie been planning this from the moment he'd lost the Sinnoh League? What the hell was going on?!

"You look a little surprised kid."

Paul jumped as a large hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. The purple-haired trainer quickly span around. Above him, a pair of black oval sunglasses peered down at him excitedly.

"It's a great pleasure Paul. I've heard all about you," the man to his front said with a wide beaming smile, showing a set of startlingly white teeth as he offered a hand. Paul stared back up at the stranger, still too shocked to even begin to process this new development.

The man was, to put it simply, big. A thin blue cotton shirt stretched tightly across a large torso, with simple beige shorts that came down just far enough to cover the man's knees. A Pokégear hung loosely around the man's thick neck, and smattering of brown frizzy hair covered the top of his round-shaped head. Paul simply looked back up at him, until the man finally faltered slightly, lowering his offered hand a little.

"Well, I guess I haven't introduced myself properly. It's been a long time I guess, perhaps you don't remember me. I'm-"

"I know who you are," Paul suddenly found himself blurting out. "You were at my brother's battle with D-,Brandon."

"That's right kiddo!" If possible, the man's smile got even wider. "Glad I left some sort of impression."

"My brother told me all about you as well. You're Scott, right?"

Scott. The multimillionaire owner of the world-famous Battle Frontier, and his father's boss was standing right in front of him.

"Bingo!" The man called Scott performed a small fist pump, nearly wiping out one of the still-passing people with his careless fist. "I was told you were good. Well, I'm so glad you made it. Although Reggie said you'd be here, and that kid has never given me a reason to doubt him so far."

"Yes," Paul growled slightly at the mention of his sibling. "Looks like Reggie planned this all out perfectly."

"Exactly," Scott replied with a happy expression, not seeming to notice Paul's disgruntled tone. "I always liked your brother, he was a good kid. A good trainer too. It was such a shame." Paul watched with slightly narrowed eyes as Scott looked away from him for a moment to stare towards the Dome behind him.

"Still," Scott suddenly clapped his hands. "Onto the next chapter eh? I've got high hopes for you. Reggie says you're quite the trainer yourself." As Paul narrowed his eyes even more, Scott leaned in a bit closer, speaking now in a exaggerated stage whisper. "And Brandon's always spoken highly of you too."

Paul eyed the man suspiciously a little longer, then turned away and looked towards the Dome with a sudden feeling of renewed determination. So what if there was people watching, or that his brother had planned it? He was finally here, about to begin. What did it really matter in the end?

"I suppose I should get going then. I wouldn't want to keep anyone waiting after all..."

"Right you are Paulie," the man cried out with even more enthusiasm from behind him. "And I'm right behind you all the way!"

Paulie?

Paul gritted his teeth for a moment, one eyebrow twitching, then forced himself to take a deep breath, in and out. Control was the important thing here, as in everything. He couldn't allow himself to enter his battle already agitated, no matter what Reggie or Ash or even this Scott did. He would keep his calm, and show them all exactly what kind of trainer he was.

But at the same time, Paul couldn't deny there was a small part of him that liked the idea of simply turning and walking away. Of challenging another facility first instead, to punish his brother for having the sheer nerve to organise all this in the first place before Paul had even known about it.

But Paul couldn't make himself turn back now. Like before, his brother had thrown down the gauntlet, and this time Paul was fully prepared to throw it back in his face.

Paul took one last look at his surroundings, taking in the clear blue skies, the beautiful morning sun, circling news helicopters and the masses of screaming people before focusing his sights on the large-looking oval doorway set in the great dome's front. Through those doors, his first symbol was waiting. And beyond that, his father and his final justification.

"Let's go," Paul said.

* * *

Ash stood back with a guarded expression, hidden in the crowd as Paul walked straight past him without noticing, followed closely by Scott. The Pallet trainer watched with narrowed eyes as both made their way slowly towards the large Dome entrance, along with the thousands of other people who had come to watch the battle.

Ash took a moment to allow the pair to gain a reasonable distance on him, then slowly began to follow behind. It was a shame really, he'd have liked to have had the chance to talk to Scott again.

"Pikapi pikachu pika?" the electric mouse asked from his shoulder. Ash shook his head slowly in response.

"No, I don't want to see him again. But since we came all this way, I still want to see a battle. Although I now hope Tucker sends him packing."

"Pikapi," the rodent placated. Ash sighed a little.

"I know Pikachu. And I don't really mean that. I guess he just has a way of getting to me. I'm okay though."

Ash gave his starter an affectionate rub between the ears, resulting in a delighted "Chaaa," from the electric type. Ash smiled briefly as he continued to walk forward along with rest of the crowd, then felt it slowly drain from his face.

What will it take to make you learn your lesson Paul, Ash wondered silently.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Phew. Even though that was shorter than the others, I seemed to have trouble writing it. My character writing still needs work obviously. I apologise for the lack of action involved in this one, but I ensure the next chapter will have all the action you could ask for. Finally, it looks like we've got to Paul's Frontier début, and I've been looking forward to it all the way through this chapter. Writing battles is what I enjoy the most after all. Will Paul earn his first victory? Read the next one to find out...

Mistuke Spotter List of Honour

*Madame Pika (Not only for pointing out a mistake, but for questioning my characterisation. Brilliant, thanks a lot.)

*jg13145

*JJWalker (Nice catch mate. That'll teach me for trying to be funny. I won't ever make that mistake again... oops... :P)

Remember guys and girls, anyone who spots a mistake will get a mention in the next chapter. I want to become better at this whole writing thing, and the only way that'll happen is if you keep pointing out my errors. The plot is mine of course, but spelling mistakes/bad grammar/characters out of character, please point them out. Bonus points if you make it as insulting as possible :P.

P.S. The chapter was mostly written very late at night, so I won't be surprised if there are even more mistakes here than usual. Good luck!

Recommendations

*Road to be a Pokémon Master -Writer under training. If you haven't read this already, then go and give it a look. Good battles are my favourite in Pokémon Fanfiction and this one has the best I've ever read. The story's recently been completed too.

(If anyone else wants their fic mentioned/wants me to read it, let me know. I'll recommend some of my favourites occasionally in the upcoming chapters throughout this story, but if any of you want to advertise your own story here, then I have no problem with that. Us writers need to stick together after all!)

I'd love to hear what you guys think of this chapter or anything in general if you wanna leave a review. They really do motivate me to no end, and often result in me writing the next chapter ahead of time. All reviews will get a reply back, and guest reviewers will get a mention in the AN in the next chapter. Until then, stay safe everyone and catch you in one/two weeks time with the next instalment.

Seeya!


	5. There's No Place Like Dome

Hey everyone! Paul's first Frontier battle, and my first proper one of this story. Enjoy :)

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"_Tuck-kerr_!"

"_Tuck-kerr_!"

"_Tuck-kerr_!"

"Is anyone going to tell me who Tucker is meant to be?" Paul asked the air around him loudly. Walking just in front of him, Scott gave another little laugh.

"You really didn't come prepared, did you kid?"

Paul glared at back of the man's head ahead of him.

"I only found out I was coming two days ago! Unlike you and my brother, I didn't have the luxury of forewarning."

The cheers were starting to get distracting. Paul could hear the rumble of thousands of feet stampeding their way into the Dome.

"Tucker's the Frontier Brain here at the Battle Dome," Scott answered cheerfully as he abruptly halted in front of a seemingly random door without warning among the dozens they'd already passed along the corridor they'd been walking down, resulting in Paul walking into the back of him.

"Woah, watch out Paulie."

Paul grumbled slightly as he took a step backwards. "What's with all the people?"

"Well, Tucker's a quite the local superstar. Not only the Dome Ace, he's also a top performer. People come from all around Kanto to watch his battles. It's even televised. It's very popular," Scott answered again as he stepped to one side, then ushered Paul into a plain white room with a few chairs and a sofa. Up by the ceiling, a small plasma screen television was switched on, and was showing what looked like a live feed of thousands of people entering a huge closed-top stadium.

Was that where he was going to be battling?

"So when do we begin?" Paul asked, forcefully clamping down on the few stray Butterfree that had seemed to have escaped.

"Shouldn't be too long now. Ah, here he is," Scott finished happily as the door to the room suddenly opened again. A second man walked into the room. In his open white jacket, black tank top, ripped jeans and gelled up hair, the new entrant looked like some kind of amateur rock star.

"How's it going out there Victor?" Scott asked the man.

"I think we're about set," Victor replied. "I've just talked to Tucker. He says we're too late for the interview now, but that it's not a total disaster. Maybe afterwards..." The man suddenly gave Paul a small wave, as if only just noticing him. "Hey there Paul. As Scott's said, I'm Victor and I'll be your referee for the match. It's good to meet you."

"Likewise," Paul replied stiffly. "So is that where the battle's going to be?" the Sinnoh trainer asked before he could stop himself, gesturing to the small screen overhead.

"You bet," the referee replied, grinning. "Nervous?"

Paul huffed slightly. "I think I'll handle it."

"That's good to hear, because we're going to have to get moving now," Victor replied, now looking more at Scott again. "You arrived a little late, we've already had to cancel the usual interview, it'd be a shame to cancel the whole battle as well."

"Well, I wasn't exactly given a time to be here by," Paul shot back, before pausing suddenly. "Wait, what interview?" But now neither man seemed to be paying him any attention.

"Maybe we can have the interview after the battle," Scott muttered, looking thoughtful as he rubbed his many chins. "We might even get better ratings that way."

"That was Tucker's idea too," the ref commented, already walking back to the open doorway with the Frontier boss now following. "He's talking about a full post-match analysis."

"Well, we'll have to work on schedule. How I Met Your Kangaskhan won't be happy if we infringe on their allotted time. Such an awful show," Scott muttered slowly as he walked through the room's exit and closed it behind him.

Paul stood alone in the empty room. He'd been in front of plenty of large crowds before. It wasn't a big deal. Although maybe, a very small part of Paul would have preferred his first Frontier battle to be a little more private.

The door suddenly reopened. A large head with brown bushy hair poked itself back through the gap.

"Um, Paul? You coming?" Scott asked, sounding a little surprised.

* * *

x - x - x - x - x

* * *

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

Boisterous music poured from every direction. Ash could hardly hear himself think. Somehow the noise generated by the crowds this time seemed far greater than it had been when he'd stood on the battlefield over a year before. Although perhaps that was simply due to the fact he was actually one of the crowd this time, instead on being on the battlefield hidden in darkness down below him.

Ash leaned forward in his seat, trying his best to ignore the screaming coming from a pair of hysterical girls just behind him. He suspected he might not have to put up with it for much longer though. On his shoulder, Pikachu's cheeks were already sparking in annoyance. To kill the time a little, Ash handed over some loose change to one of the vendors walking around the stands in exchange for a carton of juice. The blue-haired worker seemed to linger a little more than was necessary after making the transaction.

Spotlights of every colour flew in every direction. The arena was huge. Not quite on par with League stadiums, but the spectator stands were built on two levels, allowing twice the amount of people to pack themselves inside. Confetti was even raining from the ceiling. A large Jumbo-tron monitor hung just above the seating area, at the moment flashing endless advertisements. The battlefield itself stood on stilts, with elevated trainer platforms at both ends.

Ash could only wonder what was probably going through his Sinnoh rival's head right now, even he was starting to find this a little absurd from a spectator's view point. Maybe he'd just been too absorbed in the anticipation of the upcoming battle to notice last time. It tended to happen a lot, Ash couldn't help but sheepishly think to himself.

The male vendor hadn't moved far. In fact, he'd now been joined by a red-headed woman and what looked like one of her children, and all three seemed to whispering to each other with some urgency at the end of his row. Ash frowned slightly. It was almost-

"The kid's brought quite the crowd."

Ash looked around as a huge man suddenly popped up out of nowhere and deposited himself in the seat next to him.

"Scott!" Ash exclaimed happily. From his shoulder, he heard his starter call out a simpler greeting. "How did you find us?"

"You think I wouldn't notice when one of my own Frontier Brains comes to visit?" The Frontier chief twisted to look at him with a wide grin. "Hey kiddo, how's it going? I was sorry to hear about the Sinnoh League. We were all rooting for you."

"Yeah, well," Ash rubbed the back of his head at the sudden image of a Darkrai that popped into his head. "I was a little disappointed, but we'll win it for sure next time," he finished with a small fist pump.

"That's the spirit." Scott gave him a heavy pat on the back as Ash took a slip of his juice, resulting in him choking and dropping the remainder on the floor. "Onto the next adventure, eh?"

"Yeah..." Ash wheezed back. The Pallet trainer took a moment to wipe his watering eyes, giving his lost drink a dismayed glance. "And I see what you mean by the crowd," Ash continued, now with a general gesture to their surroundings. "I don't remember it being quite like this when I was here."

"Well, given the circumstances, not that surprising."

Ash looked at the man quizzically. "What do you mean Scott?"

Scott flashed Ash a look back of seeming equal puzzlement.

"Well, given his status, it's only natural why Paul has attracted more attention than you did. If there's one quality everyone has in common, it's curiosity."

Ash couldn't help but frown as he looked back to the field below. Scott's answer had only added to his confusion rather than removing it. Status? Sure, he knew Paul had competed in Sinnoh, Johto, Kanto and Hoenn. But it wasn't like he'd actually won any of them.

"Oh..."

Ash span back. The Frontier master was staring at him again with another wide grin slowly regrowing on his face.

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"My my my. This is going to be interesting then," Scott chuckled. Ash opened his mouth, intending on asking exactly what Scott meant by this, but the Pokémon on his shoulder stole his attention.

"Pikapi!"

The surrounding lights suddenly dimmed.

_"Ladies and Gentlemen..."_

Ash could barely make out anything now. The Dome was in near darkness, and the general noise of the spectators had dropped with the lights. A few hysterical screams ripped through the sudden silence. He could feel the stadium practically shivering with excitement.

_"Introducing our challenger..."_

The giant screen suddenly beamed back on. The Battle Dome sounded like a hive of agitated Beedrill.

A familiar silhouette suddenly appeared on the screen above the spectators' heads. Ash couldn't help but grin slightly himself, forgetting his puzzlement as he felt a rush of nostalgia.

_"He's taken part in Leagues across the globe, including Sinnoh, Kanto, Hoenn annnnnnnnd Johto!"_

Perhaps now he'd find out what Scott had meant, Ash realised, assuming what was going to follow was anything like how he had been introduced during his previous challenge.

No surprises so far though. Although Ash wondered what the announcer meant by 'including'. Probably just trying to hype up an already over-excited crowd.

_"He's fought against many of the top trainers in the world!"_

Well, okay, Paul had battled Cynthia. Although that hadn't exactly been a hard-fought battle.

_"Hailing all the way from Sinnoh, yet he comes in a storm to Kanto to destroy the Battle Frontier! The son of a legendary trainer, yet today, in his début performance here in the Battle Dome, he seeks to outgrow his family tree!"_

Ash's mind went strangely blank. Wait. What?

_"The youngest son of our very own Pyramid! King! Brandon! Give it up for... Paul!"_

"What the!?"

* * *

No.

No way.

They did not do that. The announcer did not just shout the very thing Paul had been trying to keep quiet out to a thousand hysterical fans.

Spotlights suddenly beamed upon the battlefield, finally lighting up where he now stood and revealing him to the stands. Paul squinted as the bright light forced his eyes to nearly shut. Around him, he could hear the crowd explode at his appearance. More than hear, he could actually feel the shock wave of noise hitting him from all sides.

So everyone knew. Paul couldn't help but quietly groan.

But suddenly everything made sense. Why there were so many people here. Of course it would attract attention. Brandon was world-famous, so it was only natural everyone was curious about how one of his sons would perform. It was one of the various reason Paul never told anyone about his father. To be judged by someone else's achievements was not a thing Paul had ever sought.

Paul slowly reopened his eyelids as his pupils began to adjust to the new conditions. Reggie's idea again? Or... Or perhaps his heritage was just closer to common knowledge here than Paul had previously realised. Scott had hinted as much. He probably knew after all, since he was Brandon's boss and on apparent good terms with Reggie.

Thank Arceus Ash hadn't come with him to watch his battle now. Paul didn't think he'd have been able to bear his old rival's onslaught of questions.

It makes no difference, Paul told himself sternly.

He was right. He could deal with all that later. All that was important right now was the battle, the first step towards his rematch.

But the opposite trainer podium was empty. Several feet below him, the beaming battlefield looked immaculate.

He had to admit his surroundings had thrown him for a bit of a loop. He'd never expected the Battle Frontier to be so, well, public. Was this what he had to expect for the rest of the facilities? Not that it mattered, Paul quickly told himself, he'd dealt with large crowds before after all, but he'd been expecting the Frontier to be closer to League gyms than League stadiums.

_"And now..."_

Paul glanced with upwards with some relief as the spotlights shining on him suddenly dimmed slightly. But suddenly Paul became aware of a change in the air.

Before, it had just been general excitement.

Now the stadium felt as if it was charged with electricity. The roar of the crowd had retreated a little, but felt like it was getting ready to pounce once again. Even without realising he was doing it, Paul's hand was already creeping towards his belt. The Jumbo-screen had changed from the silhouette of his own face and now showed a Frontier symbol Paul immediately recognised as the Tactics' symbol, having seen it often enough on his brother's mantelpiece back in Veilstone.

Why did it have to be so hyped up? It was like Paul had accidentally walked into a regional Championship bout instead.

_"A Pokémon battle is a thing of rare beauty, and such beauty needs a creator!"_

The world around him exploded once again. Even the elevated platform he was stood on was shaking!

To hell with the crowd. All it meant was there would just be more people watching when Paul crushed this superstar. It made no difference, the Sinnoh trainer told himself yet again.

"Here we go," Paul muttered grimly as red and yellow spotlights suddenly beamed on the stand opposite him across the battlefield. His first Frontier battle was only moments away. But the position opposite him was still empty.

Where are you, Paul thought. And as if to answer him, a voice suddenly called out from the heavens.

"Up here my friend!"

* * *

"He's Brandon's son?!"

"Yep." Scott chuckled at the look of amazement on the Pallet trainer's face. Ash expression was priceless.

Meanwhile the Battle Dome around them was jumping to their feet. Tucker had finally made his grand entrance.

The Dome Ace fell from the ceiling, suspended by nearly invisible metal wires, creating the impression he was actually flying. His costume only added to that illusion. On his body, Tucker wore a full skin-tight almost fully purple costume, with only the lower parts of his legs below the knees coloured white instead. Over the top on his torso, Tucker wore an extravagant white waistcoat, sprouting six miniature wings out of the back. Matching his under clothing, the Dome Ace's purple hair flowed out behind him freely as he 'flew' the circumference of the Dome twice.

The fans around the stadium seemed to be loving the dramatic trick, as they always did, Scott thought to himself. Tucker had always been a born showman.

"Hello my friends! Welcome, welcome to the Battle Dome!" the Frontier Brain was calling.

The Dome answered with near hysterical enthusiasm.

Paul wasn't sharing that enthusiasm, Scott couldn't help but notice with a surge of amusement as he shifted his gaze to the trainer far below. The challenger was simply watching Tucker's mid-air manoeuvres with a gaping mouth.

"But, I..." The Pallet trainer seemed to be struggling to organise his thoughts slightly. "But I saw them battle! How can he be Brandon's son? Why didn't Reggie say anything?"

"Guess that's a question you should ask Paul," Scott answered back cheerfully. "The crowd sure loves it though."

It was true. It had been Scott's idea to begin with after all. The son of the Pyramid Kind versus the Dome Ace superstar. Tickets had sold out in record time. Although the Battle Frontier's main purpose was to provide a unique challenge for excellent trainers, like anything, it still needed money to work. Scott had missed this opportunity with Reggie. He hadn't even known about his relation until his final Frontier battle. But he would make up for it with Paul.

And since it seemed Brandon clearly thought nothing of just using up Scott's money, and simply taking Scott's paid for Battle Pyramid to a faraway land without so much as notice, it was only fair his son should help pay that debt, Scott mused to himself.

Tucker had obviously decided he'd achieved his desired entrance. Now flying low over his opponent's head, causing his Sinnoh challenger to flinch and duck slightly, the Dome Ace soared the length of the battlefield, before in one fluid motion, unhooked the tiny tensile cables holding him up and forward-flipped perfectly onto his trainer platform. Tucker stood up straight, then threw his hands out to the crowd.

"I'm here to have a good time, HOW ABOUT YOU!?"

_"WHOOO!"_

_"TUCK-KERR!"_

_"I LOVE YOU TUCKER!"_

And as if to complete the picture, fireworks suddenly shot into the air from each of the four corners of the battlefield, exploding near the Dome roof in a dazzling array of colours.

"You're right about that," Ash said. The raven-haired boy looked almost as stunned at the sight as the trainer down below. "I definitely don't remember it being like this the last time."

"And the crowd's not the only thing that's excited," Scott replied mysteriously. Ash gave him another confused glance, but Scott just smiled back.

* * *

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"May I welcome you to the Battle Dome, my friend! May our battle truly be worthy of the attention of all these deserving people!" Tucker cried as he span around to meet Paul's eyes.

Yet again, the crowd roared in response. Paul however couldn't seem to make his mouth work correctly anymore. Hell, he would have just settled for being able to close it.

This was the Frontier Brain?

Tucker's appearance was downright bizarre. He looked as if he'd taken the wrong turning from the Grand Festival and accidentally stumbled onto a battlefield. Paul had seen his fair share of some of the extravagant costumes some trainers wore, often to make themselves look more impressive than they actually were, but this was a Frontier Brain! The sheer difference in attitude and personality to Brandon was unreal.

Suddenly, Paul had to fight hard against a mental image of his father wearing the same costume.

"Today's battle will be a double battle!"

A second voice called out from one side. Paul now looked to one side to see Victor fly down from the rafters of the ceiling, although at least he'd had the general decency to ride aboard a miniature hovercraft. The match referee circled the arena once, as if following the Dome Ace's previous trajectory, before coming to a rest by the side of the battlefield.

"Each trainer can use two Pokémon with no substitutions! The battle will be over when both of one side's Pokémon have been defeated!"

A double battle?

So this was what Ash had meant by Tucker's battle style. An eyebrow twitched slightly. Paul hadn't been expecting a double battle with his line up. In fact, he hadn't bothered ringing Reggie and switching any of his team around that morning.

"And now, let's get this show on the road!" the Dome Ace cried. Tucker was commanding the audience's full attention. If the Brain had noticed Paul's sudden feeling of apprehension, he certainly wasn't showing it.

"Introducing our theme for today's battle! You've heard about them in fairy tales, told to you while tucked safely in bed! Now see them here first hand in the majesty of the Battle Dome!" Tucker roared, sending his fans even further into their hysterical fever.

The Dome Ace reached down, plucking two Pokéballs from underneath his tunic, then threw them forward, one after the other, each with a dramatic flourish.

"For the first time ever here in the Battle Dome, born enemies will be brought together into one formidable team for your entertainment! I give you... The great dragon of fearsome vengeance, Salamence... And its partner, the white knight in shining armour... Metttttttaaaaa-grossss!"

Both Pokéballs split open the instant before hitting the battlefield, spilling their contents in a simultaneous flux of white coloured energy. The Dragon Pokémon Salamence announced itself with a savage roar, loud enough to even momentarily drown out the thousands of spectators surrounding it as it reared up on its hind legs and flapped its red scaly wings twice. Behind it, its tail whipped down onto the battlefield with a thunderous crash.

Metagross however simply appeared silently. The four legged mountain of metal dug its four legs into ground level alongside its feral-looking partner, and simply waited. Its robotic eyes seemed to have a deeply calculating look as it met Paul's gaze.

The Dome shook with excitement once again. The Sinnoh trainer however still felt stunned, although now for a different reason. For all the posturing of his opponent, he certainly had the Pokémon to back it up. The apprehension was starting to get replaced by something else.

He'd seen Pokémon of both their species before, of course, but these ones looked something else. That Metagross looked to be almost twice the size of his own Metagross. The two Pokémon opposite simply as a species were both known to be naturally powerful, and Paul could tell these two were extremely well trained just by looking at them.

And Reggie had actually beaten this guy? Ash too?

Could he?

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

Paul swore through gritted teeth.

This was just going from bad to worse. Suddenly Paul felt vastly unprepared for a battle of this scale. While it wasn't something he ignored by a long stretch, Paul hadn't trained for a double match at all much lately, after all, the Sinnoh League battles had been all singles. He didn't even have the right Pokémon with him to even attempt double battle tactics.

The fatigue of a missed night's sleep felt like it was fogging his mind, preventing him from thinking clearly. A hint of actual fear was beginning to reign instead, made worse by the unknown numbers of eyes watching him from all sides. And it didn't help that that missed breakfast was now making his stomach growl at a more or less constant rate.

Or was that just nerves?

"So Paul!"

At the sudden shock of hearing his own name, Paul snapped his wide-eyed gaze over to the referee. The man was smiling back at him.

"Our Dome Ace has revealed his two Pokémon, now it's time for you to do the same!" Suddenly to Paul's immediate left on his podium, a small electronic device slowly ascended from a hidden trapdoor what Paul immediately recognised as a Pokémon teleporter.

"Should you wish, you may call upon any of your Pokémon you desire for this battle!" the ref continued.

Paul stared at the teleporter device. Well, at least now he could swap his team around a bit. Paul began to feel a bit calmer now as he silently contemplated all the Pokémon he had back in Veilstone under his brother's care, and which combination would grant him the best chance of success.

Fire, ice, dark, dragon, ghost and ground were the obvious choices. Paul wasn't even going to consider making life harder for himself by going up against these beasts without at least a type advantage.

He'd allowed the events of yesterday to overly distract him. Paul had already seen firsthand just how strong his father was, there had been no reason not to assume the other six Brains weren't close to Brandon's level. But instead of preparing accordingly, he'd rushed in like an amateur.

But then again, just because he hadn't prepared properly beforehand didn't mean he wouldn't win now. In fact, it might even be a good thing. Reggie had said the Frontier would challenge him. Now it was time to see if his brother had been right.

* * *

"Tucker's Pokémon sure look strong," Ash muttered quietly. Arcanine and Swampert had been tough enough, but he couldn't remember them looking this powerful.

"Pii," the electric type muttered back.

Scott seemed to be looking at the battlefield below with a strange expression on his face. But then a few seconds later, the expression melted to general amusement.

"I should have known. Of course Tucker wouldn't be able to resist it. Not with all this coverage. And it is Brandon's son after all." Scott paused, now grinning widely.

"You mean-"

"Yeah. Our Dome Ace has brought out the big guns. Those two are Tucker's very strongest partners." Scott adjusted his sunglasses. "My my, I wonder how Paul will handle this?"

* * *

"How are you feeling today Paul?"

Paul looked up. The Dome Ace was now talking to him directly, although keeping himself loud enough to be heard by everyone else in the building. Tucker seemed to be eyeing him with a slightly curious expression on his face. Probably mentally comparing him to his father, Paul thought darkly.

Dozens of different Pokémon, strategies and combinations were still running rampant through his head, each one being dismissed quicker than the last. He still couldn't decide on a team.

"There's no rush. Take as much time as you need to decide." Tucker suddenly gave Paul a wide knowing smirk, as if he could read the Paul's mind.

"After all... We wouldn't want to disappoint everyone here with a hasty decision, would we?"

The nerves suddenly disappeared. Paul's mind suddenly wiped itself clean.

Tucker was clearly trying to sound kind and generous. The crowd was certainly buying the act. To anyone not looking too deep, they might think it the height of sportsmanship, to reveal your Pokémon and allow your opponent unlimited time to choose their's.

And besides, it probably wasn't anything abnormal anyway. It was obvious from the way a Pokémon transporter was built into the very trainer platform itself that this was just normal rules of the Battle Dome.

But the way Tucker had said it sounded like he was doing Paul a favour. To Paul, what the Frontier Brain hadn't said was just as obvious as what he had.

_"You won't win no matter who you pick."_

Paul gritted his teeth silently.

Oh, that's it. Powerful Pokémon or not, this 'superstar' was going down now.

"I'll go with who I have thanks," Paul replied slowly and clearly at the referee, while still maintaining eye contact with the Brain opposite. Tucker seemed to get the hint though as he responded with with another amused smirk. The referee shouted out a loud "Okay!", and Paul heard the teleporter sink back into the ground with a soft click.

Paul reached for his belt, his mind focused to a knife edge on the pair of monstrous Pokémon opposing him. He'd beat this fool no matter what Pokémon he used.

Double battles or not, Paul would outsmart this supposed superstar, in his own Dome no less, and take down both of his opponent's creatures separately just like normal.

The nerves were now long gone. He was back where he belonged. The watching eyes around him suddenly no longer existed. Only the battlefield, his opponent, and the creatures in-between them that were about to battle mattered.

"Houndoom, standby for battle!"

The pack animal emerged on the field with a spirited howl. Paul's fire type from Johto. During his journey throughout the region, Paul had been set upon by a pack of wild Houndour on his way to Goldenrod City, and after managing to fight his way out of the cleverly sprung trap with much difficultly, the pack leader had leapt forward to challenge him directly.

It had been fierce as a wild Pokémon. Now under Paul's tuition, Houndoom was the very definition of controlled savagery, and even if Paul had used the Pokéball teleporter, couldn't have picked a more ideal Pokémon in terms of typing to deal with the opposing Metagross.

"And your second?" the referee called out questionably. Paul ignored him completely as he now switched focus to Salamence.

Dragon Pokémon were tricky to deal with at the best of times, and Salamence as a species was well known as being one of the most powerful Dragon type Pokémon in the world. But he wasn't trying to capture one today, he was here to bring one down as hard and as fast as he possibly could.

And then it hit him.

Paul stood stock still, one hand hovering above the remaining Pokéballs on his belt. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

It was just too perfect. Slowly, Paul looked over to the dozens of cameras recording his every movement on the front row of the spectators' seating. The ideal Pokémon to combat both the creatures opposite was just hanging an inch from his slightly trembling fingers.

No. It was impossible. Not even Reggie could have planned this out to that degree. But still, it was beyond a shadow of a doubt the ideal choice for both the monsters before him.

For a moment, Paul could see the dark type's hate-filled eyes as it leapt for him with both claws outstretched.

No. To hell with Reggie. He wasn't going to use that Pokémon, whether it was perfect or not. No one, or no circumstance, would force him into making a choice he didn't want to make. He'd already decided he was going to win this either way.

But then again, type advantage wasn't the only advantage he could have...

"Standby for battle..."

Paul instead pulled out the Pokéball at the rear of his belt, and tossed it forward to join Houndoom below.

"Electivire!"

The Thunderbolt Pokémon cried out its name as it materialised in a second blaze of white, raising both its arms and twin tails above its head.

"Electa, electivire!"

"Interesting choices!" Paul looked over at the Dome Ace again as Tucker spread his arms out wide. "Now Paul, let's have a battle truly worthy of the Symbol you are fighting for here today... the Battle Dome Tactics' Symbol!"

Paul clenched both his fists as the audience broke out into yet more applause. A rotating picture of the actual symbol suddenly appeared on the giant screen above. A rush of fierce joy suddenly filled his body.

Finally, after so much doubt and confusion, he was back where he was meant to be.

"And so both sides have revealed their Pokémon...!" the referee screamed.

The stadium fell silent. Glaring at each other directly, Houndoom and Salamence half-crouched, looking ready to pounce and tear the other to shreds at a moment's notice. Electivire raised its fists. Metagross droned out a low mechanical-sounding monotone.

"Then..."

Paul locked eyes with Tucker. The Frontier Brain seemed as excited as his fans. The very air had turned into glass, ready to shatter in an instant.

The referee raised both flags. "Battle begin!"

Paul reacted instantly. "Nasty Plot, let's go!" he commanded the moment the flags dropped.

Houndoom exploded with a vibrant dark aura, embers of pure night pouring from every inch of its body. The Johto-born bared its teeth, then flung back its horned head and gave another long spirited howl as it focused its innate power to an even greater degree.

Paul watched with satisfaction. It was a good start. Now Houndoom was stronger than ever, and the match hadn't even truly begun.

However, Tucker didn't look concerned.

"Interesting," Tucker commented. The man opposite even seemed to be laughing slightly!

"Now, Salamence..."

The Dome Ace grandly gestured forward. "Aerial Ace!"

Salamence snarled once, then with another powerful flap of its wings, leapt directly upwards into the air. The dragon type ascended almost all the way to the Dome's roof, then performed a mid-air backwards loop, before screaming its way towards Paul's Pokémon with the fury of a speeding comet.

"Electivire, intercept! Thunder!" Paul demanded, not wasting a moment.

The electric type smacked its fists together once, then thrust an open yellow palm towards the sky as it blasted a burst of elemental energy upwards. The very air seemed to ripple as the electricity zig-zagged its way towards its target.

It made sense. Countering Tucker's physical move with a long ranged one. Aerial Ace was an attack that once fully formed moved at a speed that made it almost invisible, resulting in it becoming near impossible for any opposition to avoid. One of the only ways to prevent the attack was to stop it from gaining that necessary momentum to begin with.

Sure enough, Paul heard his opponent cry up another order soon afterwards.

"Break off Salamence!"

Just in time, the Salamence abandoned its attack and threw itself sideways as the electrical attack whizzed by it and smacked into the roof of the Dome just above. Paul huffed as he returned his gaze back to the field to his front.

Tucker was going to have to try harder than that to catch him off guard. Paul crossed his arms as he called out his next order.

"Good. Now Houndoom, Flamethrower on Metagross!"

His dark type sprang forward like a coiled spring, then with another flick of its horned head, opened its jaws wide. Made even stronger than usual by the hound's previous action, Houndoom unleashed a river of fire at the so far motionless steel type.

"Shield yourself my friend!" Tucker replied, waving his arms rather theatrically as he did.

A bubble of green instantly expanded around the steel type. The orange flames blasted in every direction as they hit Metagross's Protect, momentarily removing it from view completely but completely failing to have any effect. Another moment later, Metagross emerged from the heat, no sign of distress on its metallic face.

"Enough for a warm up, wouldn't you say Paul?" Tucker called over to him with the same laugh still lingering in his voice. "But this battle's barely gotten started."

The Ace's micro-phoned voice riled up the stands once again. Paul snorted in reply. The way the man opposite continually played to the crowd around him was starting to get on his nerves.

In that case, Paul would just have give Tucker no choice but to focus on the battle instead. But the Dome Ace was already moving into action.

"So if at first don't you first succeed, you try again! Another Aerial Ace Salamence!"

Salamence reappeared, plunging once more towards Electivire with clear intent.

It was already too late to try to prevent it like before, Paul quickly calculated. The first time, Salamence had started on the ground, and had needed to fly up into the air before commencing the attack. But this time, it had begun the attack while already in the air.

White light had already surrounded the Dragon Pokémon as it dived again. There was no possible way Electivire could attack back before the move made contact this time, and attempting to avoid it would be a fool's hope.

But there was still one move in Electivire's arsenal Paul could use.

"Protect," Paul commanded simply.

In a style identical to the Pokémon opposite, it was Electivire who generated a shield around itself this time. Salamence slammed into Electivire's grass-coloured defence, causing the electric type's knees to buckle slightly, before instantly taking off back into the sky.

"Good reactions my friend. Truly first rate!"

Paul gave no reply. He had absolutely no interest in exchanging banter with this man. He was far more interested in seeing what else his opponent had up his skin-tight sleeves. Aerial Ace wasn't working, so what next?

"But I don't think we're quite done yet! Salamence, Aerial Ace!"

"What?" Paul muttered to himself. The same move again?

"Electivire, Prote-"

Tucker suddenly swung an arm forward.

"Switch targets!"

"What!"

Paul watched as the dragon type suddenly twisted off its third attempt on his electric Pokémon, and instead verged towards his other creature on the battlefield.

"Quick, Flamethrower Houndoom!"

At the last moment, Houndoom shot a large jet of fire blindly into the air. Salamence easily dodged the fire type's last ditch attempt to save itself, but slowed down slightly about twenty metres above the ground as it lost sight of Houndoom in the simmering heat. Using the grace of a natural hunter, Houndoom used the distraction to leap backwards as the dragon type literally skimmed by.

Paul fought for a moment to keep his calm composure. The crowd "Ooo'd" and "Ahh'd" at the near miss.

* * *

"That Salamence is really fast," Ash muttered. On his shoulder, Pikachu muttered back a quiet agreement. "But what's with only using Aerial Ace? And Metagross hasn't even done anything so far."

"That's true. But..."

Ash turned to look at Scott quizzically. The Frontier chief straightened his sunglasses as watched the scene below with an interested expression. "I think Tucker's just feeling Paul out."

"Feeling Paul out?" Ash repeated, confused. Pikachu mirrored its trainer's reaction, tilting its head to one side.

"Yeah. Tucker's trying to find out what plans Paul might have made for this battle. He's using Aerial Ace to try and provoke a reaction. You remember your battle with Tucker, don't you Ash?"

Ash nodded as he looked up and resumed tracking Salamence with his eyes. The dragon type had since circled around, and was now yet again back up and flying at the Dome roof. Neither trainer was calling out a move for the moment. Both Paul and Tucker seemed to be staring at each other in silence.

"Tucker likes to play around with his challengers first. It's a good idea, for one, it often forces his opponents to reveal their plans early, and two, it gives his fans their money's worth. You were his perfect opponent in a way, because you dislike waiting and prefer to attack head on to put your opponent on the defensive from the word 'go'."

"Use Agility!" The Dome Ace suddenly cried. It took a moment for Ash to realise this new command wasn't directed at Salamence.

Still on the ground, the steel type seemed to glow a simmering pinkish purple. For a moment, it grew brighter and brighter. But then a moment after that, it disappeared. Metagross simply remained in the exact same position as before, in fact, the exact same position it had first been released upon.

"But Paul, it seems, is different," Scott continued. The Frontier chief paused, looking thoughtful. "Which is bad news for Tucker."

"What's up with Metagross?" Ash wondered to himself out-loud, disregarding Scott's confusing statements in favour of something more direct. "Why use Agility and not even try to move?"

But yet again, Scott wasn't about to give a straight answer. "Things could be about to get interesting," the portly man murmured quietly, just loud enough for Ash to catch.

* * *

Unlike his rival almost a hundred metres above him, Paul wasn't confused. He knew from experience any Metagross using Agility would mean trouble if he didn't deal with it soon.

But for the moment, Metagross wasn't the threat. The purple-haired trainer frowned, trying to formulate a plan as he tilted his head back upwards.

Salamence was still circling high overhead. Tucker could order it to attack from an almost infinite number of angles, and Paul couldn't guarantee he'd be able to escape it every time. In fact, the opposite was far more likely.

Protect would eventually fail if he kept using it in sequence, and although Houndoom also had a way to defend itself, he was hoping to save that for a better opportunity.

Like with any battle, it was all about predicting what his opponent was planning, then using that to his own advantage. Unfortunately, Tucker hadn't given him much to go on yet. Paul now knew Salamence could use Aerial Ace, and it was probably safe to bet it had at least one dragon type move up its sleeve too, but that was all he could guess so far.

And the way Tucker wasn't instructing Metagross to do anything was starting to get suspicious. Using Agility, yet not ordering a follow up.

Perhaps Tucker actually wanted him to attack Metagross instead. Tucker could be trying to draw his attention with Metagross by leaving it out in the open, then as soon as he moved in to attack, Salamence would strike from above with another Aerial Ace.

Paul wasn't about to fall into that trap so easily. But if he was right, then how could he use that to his advantage? Someone would have to do something soon, they couldn't both just stand there and wait for the other to move first forever. Unless...

And then suddenly, Paul realised something.

Like him, it seemed the man opposite preferred to let his opponent attack, and then counter. But there was a problem with that. Tucker also had to entertain his fans. And Paul had no one he needed to impress here. He just wanted to win.

Sure enough, as the seconds began to stretch on, Paul saw a look of sudden annoyance flash across the Dome Ace's face. Paul flashed a small knowing smirk back. Tucker would have no choice but to break first, or risk his audience losing interest.

"Salamence, Aerial Ace on Electivire!"

Paul smirk grew even wider as another idea struck him. Suddenly he knew how he would deal with Salamence. It was simple really. He was back in the Sinnoh League.

"Electivire, get ready!"

* * *

The crowd was chanting his name again. Their attention was on him, and Tucker couldn't help but bask in it like always. There was no greater praise than the praise of strangers after all. Tucker had always loved the spotlight, and becoming a Frontier Brain had allowed him to combine both his life's great passions, to perform and to battle.

His opponent today wasn't making it easy for him though. But Tucker couldn't say he was all that surprised really. Like father like son. It was a shame Paul hadn't taken after his brother rather than his father. Reggie had been far more fun.

But Tucker was a performer, and no matter the quality of the supporting act, his own talent would shine through as always.

Salamence was diving for its opponent with even more pace than before. Tucker wasn't surprised by that either. His dragon type had never liked being denied and too many of its attacks so far had proved fruitless for its liking. But not for long. If Electivire was lucky, it might get a second Protect in a row. After that, it would be wide open, and his Salamence would rip it to shreds.

Tucker frowned. Yes, he'd decided to use his strongest double battle team today. Perhaps it was a little unfair, but this was Brandon's son. Tucker hadn't been able to resist. The Pyramid King was far too high and mighty. Perhaps seeing his son humbled would send him a message that Tucker's popular show wasn't as an embarrassment to the Frontier as Brandon seemed to think it was.

Scott would likely be cross with him. They were never meant to use their full power against their challengers after all. But he'd get over it. Brandon was the Brain who was in their boss's bad books right now, he doubted Scott would be too annoyed about him trying a little too hard in his battles, when the great Pyramid King wasn't even trying at all.

"Electivire, block it!"

Tucker blinked in surprise, then chuckled slightly. Well okay now, this was a surprise. But if he thought Electivire would be able to stop the Dome Ace's undefeated Salamence with brute strength alone, unProtected, he was sorely mistaken.

"Go Salamence, my mighty dragon!" Tucker cried, spreading his arms out wide. The crowd gave another loud cheer.

Arceus, he loved this job.

* * *

Electivire crossed its arms in an X across its body. A split-second later...

WHAM!

Dust flew into the air as Salamence struck Electivire with a roar of victory. Paul watched with gritted teeth as the dragon type tucked its head in and kept pushing, shoving his electric type backwards towards him, both its yellow feet sliding almost all the way across the battlefield to the base of his podium below.

But Electivire managed to remain upright, even as Salamence gave another roar and bodily slammed it into the wall behind it, forcing Paul to fight to keep his balance as tremors shook the ground beneath his feet.

Electivire wasn't easily overpowered. Salamence was obviously far stronger than Infernape had been.

But Electivire was still standing. And that's all that mattered.

"Now, grab hold of it!"

Electivire shook off the pain, then jumped forward and with both arms wrapped the dragon type's neck in a tight bear hug. Salamence roared with outrage, rearing its head and ripping itself instantly free. But as the dragon type attempted to fly away up to the rafters again, it found itself abruptly slammed back into the ground.

"Salamence!"

Paul grinned. Tucker's shocked cry was like music to his ears. For the first time, the Dome Ace seemed to have momentarily forgotten about performing for his audience at the sight of one of Salamence's back legs wrapped tightly by both Electivire's twin black tails. There was no chance of Salamence simply flying away now.

He had it. Images of an Infernape getting lit up bright yellow shot across his mind.

"Now, Thunder!" Paul roared.

"Salamence, move away!"

He must be desperate, Paul thought as he watched Electivire light up with electricity. There was no way Salamence could escape Electivire's grip. But the Dome Ace hadn't sounded desperate.

Paul suddenly found himself watching in shocked silence as Salamence launched itself forwards again, dragging Electivire helplessly onto its stomach. Electivire was too heavy for the dragon to lift into the air, but on the other hand, it seemed Salamence was too strong for Electivire to hold in place successfully. The electric type fought a losing battle to get back to its feet as Tucker's dragon began to hop and spring away, dragging it across the battlefield by its own tails.

"Electivire, what are you doing?" Paul yelled out, suddenly seeing his biggest chance so far begin to slip away from him. "Just use Thunder where you are, and you can stop it!"

"Don't underestimate my Pokémon Paul," Tucker called out with a wide grin. "Give it a toss, my fearsome beast!"

Electivire lit up with electricity once again. But then found itself tugged into the air and flipped upside down by its own tails. The electric type looked up, or rather down its appendages to see Salamence back on the ground and facing it, giving a feral grin as it whipped both of the black tails now held in both its front claws back towards the battlefield floor.

THUD!

With no time to recover, Electivire was whipped back up into the air again, then brought back slamming down.

THUD!

And again.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

"Protect!"

Paul had finally managed to find his tongue amidst his disbelief at what he was seeing. Just in time to save itself from a sixth impact, Electivire again activated its shield, allowing it to bounce off the floor harmlessly instead.

"You made a grave mistake in ordering Electivire to try to restrain my mighty Salamence!" Tucker seemed to have regained his composure. The Dome Ace pointed forward at Paul, winking. "You may be the Pyramid King's son, but this is the Battle Dome!"

"Leave him out of this," Paul snarled back before he could stop himself. Just the mention of his father was enough to flare the frustration into the beginnings of actual anger. The purple-haired trainer uncrossed his arms and cupped both hands around his mouth, trying to shout over to his creature above the crowd's enthusiastic response to Tucker's words.

"Electivire, you better Thunder it right now!"

"Break free my friend!"

With a mighty roar, Salamence shook its foot free of the electric type's now loosened restraint. Paul exclaimed angrily. But Salamence was still on the floor. It was still vulnerable. He couldn't allow it get back into the air, otherwise they'd be right back at square one.

"Houndoom, Thunder Fang!"

As if fired from a gun, the dark type ran across the field, closing in fast with long leaping bounds.

"Salamence, turn around!"

"Rush it!"

Houndoom was just a few paces away. Its mouth was already opening, bright blue sparks pouring from its lips. Salamence had managed to finish its one-eighty turn, but Houndoom was already upon it. The dragon's eyes widened as it watched the seemingly inevitable attack close the final few feet.

"Salamence!" Tucker pointed his other hand forward to join his first. "Brick Break!"

Paul felt the colour drain from his face.

With a roar of fresh determination, Salamence swiped forward at the incoming electrified bite with one of its front claws. The meeting of the two attacks was hidden by a small explosion. But an agonised yelp was heard by all. Houndoom flew backwards out of the small cloud of dust and landed hard on its side, rolling and whimpering before finally coming to a skidding stop.

Meanwhile, Salamence took off back into the air, retaking its position by the roof's rafters. Paul watched it go with a sense of disbelief.

But... he'd had it. Salamence should have been down for the count. What happened?

"And that..."

Paul looked back at Tucker.

"Is why they call it the Tactics' Symbol."

* * *

"What a hit," Ash murmured to himself. Super effective too. He'd honestly be surprised if Houndoom would be able to get up after that.

"Paul's strategy wasn't a bad one," Scott muttered back. For the first time, Scott was looking a little serious. "But Tucker likes to keep a surprise move or two back. Paul has to be more careful, Tucker's not easy to trap."

"Houndoom, stand!"

Paul was yelling for his Pokémon to get up. And to Ash's surprise, it actually did.

"And the simple problem is, Paul's facing Tucker's very best team down there. I think Paul's just getting overpowered. At the end of the day, a good tactic can only take you so far..."

* * *

"Not bad," Paul heard Tucker call out. "Your Pokémon show spirit."

But while impossible for the crowd to see, Paul knew Tucker could see as well as he could that Houndoom was quivering slightly from shock. The dark type had clearly felt that hit hard. Paul couldn't allow it to take one like that again.

Stay calm. Look for the weaknesses.

"Metagross, Magnet Rise!"

"Huh?" Paul looked over at the steel type.

Metagross shimmered light blue as it silently levitated itself a couple of feet from the ground. Paul felt another sudden surge of irrational anger. What was Tucker doing? Was he ever going to order Metagross to actually attack him, or was he just going to use his Salamence for the entire battle? Not that he wanted Metagross to join in exactly, but it would have at the very least made a change of pace.

But why lift Metagross from the ground in the first place? Paul hadn't even ordered an attack against it.

The ground...

"Salamence..." Suddenly Paul knew what Tucker was going to command before he said it. "Earthquake!"

Boom!

Before Paul could react, Salamence shot earthwards and slammed back into the ground with such force, it actually made the battlefield floor crack. Electivire stumbled, tripping over and falling onto its back.

And Houndoom?

Paul watched with some surprise as Houndoom simply planted itself on the ground and weathered the attack. The dog Pokémon's lips were pulled back in a soundless snarl as the earth beneath it shook violently.

Although he expected nothing less from all his Pokémon, he couldn't stop a small feeling of gratitude for his creatures' efforts emerge. Even Electivire had been on the ground for less than a second before quickly rolling itself back upright.

Yet another example of how forcing Pokémon to adapt to their weaknesses, rather than just improving their strengths was the best way. An attack like that would have taken out any of Ash's Pokémon for certain, Paul couldn't help but think to himself.

But Ash had beaten Tucker. C'mon, he had to start turning things around!

* * *

Meanwhile, back a hundred metres above, said trainer was shaking his head in response to Scott's words.

"I don't care how tough your opponent is, there's always a way to win if you believe your Pokémon can do it!"

Scott gave a little chuckle at his words, but Ash was barely paying attention. He felt strange. He might have even described himself as conflicted if asked, although perhaps in simpler words. Perhaps it was simply because he'd been in Paul's shoes so many times before, as the underdog fighting against high odds. Or perhaps he was just getting immersed in the battle like he always did.

He still didn't like him. Maybe even hated him. But, now he was here, he couldn't quite bring himself to want to see Paul lose.

"Pikapi pikah!"

Ash glanced sideways, and as he met his electric type's enthusiastic expression, found himself giving a sudden grin back. Pikachu understood.

"I know Pikachu. Isn't this great?"

* * *

Focus, Paul told himself sternly.

Tucker was good, way better than what his appearance might suggest. But not invulnerable. It was all a matter of finding the weak points like usual, and targeting them as ruthlessly as possible.

So what did he know?

Aerial Ace, Earthquake and Brick Break. Salamence had used all three so far. Tucker hadn't revealed its fourth move yet, but Paul guessed it would be some kind of dragon type attack. Metagross had Magnet Rise, Protect and Agility. Both Pokémon were obviously holding back a final move, and it was worrying Paul. He couldn't allow Tucker to surprise him again.

_"Rrrrraaawwwwggghhhh!"_

Paul started slightly. Houndoom was now snarling at the sky. From the motions of its head, the dark type seemed to following the dragon's movements up above, where it was once again circling like a Mandibuzz. Paul could understand his Pokémon's emotions perfectly, because he was feeling something similar himself. Houndoom wanted payback.

"Not yet Houndoom," Paul instructed it firmly.

His Pokémon had to be thinking along the same lines as he was, but they had to wait for the right moment. Houndoom had a few surprises of its own after all. But it had to be grinding on his fire type that it could have perhaps prevented that last attack.

Keep calm, Paul told himself firmly. It was all a matter of waiting for the perfect timing. Being impatient in a battle of this level would spell certain defeat.

"Brick Break again, my mighty beast!"

Salamence gave another roar as it abruptly turned and sped down towards Houndoom once again. Paul's eyes narrowed.

"Electivire, Brick Break!"

The Thunderbolt Pokémon leapt in front of its partner. Electivire swung its arm towards the incoming dragon in a chopping motion, meeting Salamence's gleaming front foot with its own hand.

As the two Brick Breaks collided, both Pokémon seemed frozen in place as the point where the competing fighting type energy met grew brighter and brighter. Then without warning, it exploded, throwing both backwards.

"We might be looking at a tie!" Tucker called out through the smoke. But Paul knew better as he watched Electivire fly backwards, narrowly missing Houndoom as it bounced off the battlefield and crashed on its back several yards away. The Dome Ace was only humouring him. Salamence, he saw as the smoke cleared, had been thrown back a little as well, but hardly looked fazed as it hung in the air for a moment above the lingering smog. Electivire on the other hand now had a definite air of sluggishness as it pushed itself up from the battlefield floor with one arm.

Houndoom gave another snarl in the dragon's direction, which Salamence replied to with a wide smirk.

"Flamethrower!"

"Take those flames my friend! Bask in their fiery might!"

Houndoom yet again blasted another wave of heat forward. But this time Salamence didn't even try to avoid them. The dragon type simply flew forward through the fire, both its front claws already shining again as it closed into Houndoom.

Even with Nasty Plot, it seemed like the fire was doing next to nothing to Salamence. In fact, it barely even slowing it down. Salamence gave another loud, Dome-shaking battle cry it passed the final distance to the dog.

"You know it, my dragon!" Tucker spread both his arms out wide. "Brick Break, double time!"

"Dodge that move!" Paul yelled back.

Left, right, up, down, left, right- Houndoom's reflexes were razor sharp as it pranced backwards, missing each strike by mere inches. The dragon wasn't deterred though. Salamence just kept coming, hovering a few feet from the ground as it struck at the fire type again and again.

Salamence was unstopppable! Even with both his Pokemon fighting, he couldn't hold it back. And once Tucker decided to bring Metagross into the fray, they'd be simply overpowered.

He had to use that move! Now, while Tucker seemed content to just fight with Salamence. And before Salamence landed another hit with Brick Break that might just be enough to put Houndoom down for good.

But the positions weren't right. He'd waste his only surprise for nothing, for a mere glancing blow.

But what else? Houndoom couldn't just dodge and retreat forever. But then...

Wham!

Salamence roared in frustration as its strike buried itself into the battlefield instead of its opponent, sending fragments of concrete everywhere. The dragon type was quickly losing its patience.

"Your Houndoom is very fast Paul! Truly remarkable!"

You better believe it, Paul thought furiously. It had taken years of training for Houndoom to reach that level.

"But I think it's time for the chase to come to an end!" Tucker swung one arm right across his chest. "Salamence, go!"

Now what's he doing? Paul wondered. Paul had seen three of Salamence's moves already. Was Tucker about to unveil Salamence's fourth move?

But in a display that drew fresh gasps from the crowd, Salamence instead leapt forward up into the air again, then descended upon Houndoom from directly above, this time with all four of its feet glowing bright white.

What the hell? Salamence could use Brick Break with its back legs too?

Houndoom couldn't dodge this! He had no choice, he'd-

Wait.

"Houndoom, jump back!"

Using all the power in its legs, Houndoom sprang backwards an instant before Salamence slammed into the ground. That was it. The dragon type lifted its head and uttered a bellow of anger at its earth-bound rival.

"Brick Break!"

"Flamethrower!"

The dragon type was yet again engulfed in flames. But this only seemed to infuriate the proud Pokémon further. Now on the ground, Tucker's Pokémon simply pounced forward through the flames in search of their originator with all four of its appendages glowing white once again-

"Houndoom, shift left! Electivire, use Thunderpunch!"

-only to see a yellow fist coming at it at high speed.

"Dodge it!"

But even as Electivire lunged forward again, Salamence kicked itself off the ground back into the air above it. Paul couldn't help but snarl himself as he watched the dragon soar once more back into the safety of the sky where he couldn't reach it.

Dammit!

He'd drawn it right back to where Electivire had been waiting, blinded it with a Flamethrower, yet Salamence had still been too fast to hit.

"Aerial Ace!"

Enough with the damn Aerial Aces!

"Use Thunder!" Paul yelled instantly, gesturing into the sky. Yet another burst of electricity shot skyward, causing the dragon to once again abandon its dive and veer out of the way.

Yes, that was the plan. Electivire could deal with Salamence for now. It had less to fear from Brick Break than Houndoom did, could deter Aerial Ace with Thunder provided its reactions were quick enough, and still had Protect should Salamence pull any surprises. Of course, there was still-

"Earthquake! Shake the ground!"

Salamence was just too fast. And Thunder was only really useful for keeping distance between Salamence and Electivire. The ground was a much bigger target, and the dragon type only had to reach the battlefield in any place to unleash the ground type attack. Dodging Electivire's electricity in that case would be a piece of cake, and Electivire was too slow to physically intercept it.

Too slow for now anyway. There was a very good reason Paul had chosen this Pokémon to fight alongside Houndoom, even though it possessed no type advantage over either of Tucker's Pokémon.

"Houndoom, use Thunder Fang on Electivire!"

A collective gasp rose from the crowd as Houndoom ran forward and sank its teeth into its partner's lower leg with no hesitation. Electivire didn't seem to mind the bite though. In fact, the electric Pokémon suddenly gave a shout of triumph. Paul quickly glanced at Tucker. Paul could tell he understood the move though. In fact, the Dome Ace was wearing a look of sudden awe on his face.

As well he should.

"Go! Thunderpunch on Salamence!"

And Electivire was off. Bounding across the battlefield at high speed in great leaps with both fists crackling.

"Back in the air!" came Tucker's immediate reply.

Performing another abrupt one-eighty turn, this one mere metres from the ground, Salamence twisted and began to fly upwards once again, just missing Electivire as it shot straight over the spot on the battlefield it had previously intended to use Earthquake. But not fast enough as Electivire skidded to a halt, then turned and explosively leapt straight up after it into the air with one fist extended.

SMACK!

Salamence twisted away, snarling angrily as it pushed itself even further up into the air to gain a safe distance while sparks danced across its wings. Having reached the peak of its jump, Electivire fell down and landed back on earth solidly with both feet. The electric type threw both arms in the air in triumph at finally landing a hit on the evasive dragon.

"Electa-vire!"

Motor Drive. The special ability of Electivire that allowed it to boost its speed whenever it got hit by an electric type attack. But it was more than just simply speed Electivire gained, as Paul knew all too well. All Electivire's muscles gained a boost in power, thus allowing it to leap higher and even attack with more power. After all, a fist aimed at your face hurts more the faster its comes.

"Bravo Paul. You've really-"

"Thunder!" Paul commanded loudly, not caring in the slightest in what Tucker had to say of his previous action.

But Salamence just twisted to one side and dodged the attack. Like all the times before, the dragon was proving nearly impossible to hit now it was back high in the air. It was proving to be a real problem.

But for now, Salamence had been neutralised. All its used attacks were physical, Electivire could easily keep it at bay with repeated Thunders, and was fast enough now to catch it before it would be able to use Earthquake.

Which leaves...

Was Tucker ever going to use his Metagross?

"Houndoom, Flamethrower on Metagross!"

But yet again, this time even without a command, the steel type activated its Protect shield. The fire attack split into four as it impacted into Metagross's defence, sending jets of flames into the ground and up in the air.

But Protect wouldn't last forever. Metagross was surviving on borrowed time. Tucker would have to do something, Salamence wouldn't be able to swoop to the rescue this time with Electivire standing guard.

"Houndoom, Nasty Plot, then repeated Flamethrowers until you break through!"

The dark hound growled quietly to itself, then threw back its head and uttered a blood-chilling howl. The fire type's fury echoed from every part of the rounded Dome walls, making the noise sound even more terrifying than it already was.

The wave of fire that swiftly followed did far more than hit Metagross. Half the field was ravaged by the heat, and charred instantly black. Paul uttered another low growl as Metagross emerged from the attack yet again under its shield.

It had gotten lucky. But there wouldn't be a third time.

"Again!"

"Dodge with Magnet Rise!"

Metagross levitated a few feet from the ground, just avoiding the next, now insanely powerful funnel of fire that blazed below it. But that was it. Metagross was done. Tucker had no play left.

"Flamethrower, one last time!" Paul commanded as he closed one hand into a fist in front of him.

"Bullet Punch!"

What the?!

Houndoom span away with an surprised yelp under the momentum given by the iron limb that had just slammed into it at force.

Paul fought back the urge to swear furiously. He'd forgotten. So that was its fourth move. Metagross could use Bullet Punch.

"Flamethrowe-"

"Bullet Punch!"

Again, Houndoom was struck before it could make a move. Of course, in close proximity, Bullet Punch would always strike before Flamethrower could be launched. All that work to counter Salamence's speed, and it turned out Metagross was the one with a priority move.

"Houndoom, fall back!"

"Agility, then Bullet Punch!"

For the third time, Metagross shot forward. Each time the huge Pokémon moved, it tucked its four limbs into its body, and flung itself at Houndoom like a ginormous rotating metal frisbee.

Houndoom yelped again, this time in pain as the Iron Leg Pokémon crashed into it for the third time, even mid-air as it tried to jump backwards. The damage wouldn't be much, steel type moves weren't that effective against fire types after all, but it would be slowly adding up. Houndoom's movements weren't looking so sharp anymore. The Brick Break, Earthquake and now Bullet Punches were starting to take their toll. Houndoom was clearly coming close to its limits, even with Paul's extensive endurance training.

They had to make space. Bullet Punch was fast, but it still had to actually make contact with its opponent to work. Metagross would cover that ground quickly, thanks to Agility, but Houndoom could keep it at bay with long-ranged attacks, just like Electivire had done with Salamence.

But they couldn't escape! Metagross wasn't letting them go!

"One more time! Bullet Punch!" Tucker called out.

Metagross dashed in again. Paul's eyes widened as flash of inspiration struck him.

"Jump over it!"

Instead of retreating, this time Houndoom leapt forward, clean over a surprised Metagross to land behind it. Due to the speed the steel type had been moving at, the fire type was now a good distance away on the other side of the field.

"Turn, and Flamethrower!"

Houndoom sprang around to face the direction it had come, completing the half turn and unleashing sheer hell from its mouth before its feet even hit the ground again.

"Protect!"

Argh!

Every time he came up with an idea, Tucker would counter it. It seemed like an impossible game of tug-of-war. Every strategy Paul could think of was playing through his mind.

Salamence was still high in the air. Maybe he could combine Electivire and Houndoom's strength to take out Metagross quickly before Salamence could use Earthquake again.

Risky. But what else was there?

On the plus side, it seemed Tucker had now decided to finally utilise both his Pokémon. It at least meant he'd acknowledged Paul as a threat worth taking seriously.

But the down side was both Tucker's Pokémon were absurdly strong, and had proven themselves capable of dealing with almost any attack or strategy Paul had thrown their way. The Tactics' Symbol indeed. For all the theatricals of Tucker, the man opposite had truly earned his Frontier Brain title.

But it wasn't over yet. Houndoom still had that move. It wouldn't work on Metagross. Its defence was too high, even factoring in the super-effectiveness. It would only work on Salamence.

He'd have to risk bringing in Salamence closer again. And the attack wouldn't do much by itself. Paul would have to follow it up quick, before the dragon type flew away again and everything was proved pointless.

It was a big gamble. Salamence could easily demolish Houndoom with either Brick Break or Earthquake if he got the timing wrong.

"Bullet Punch!"

Screw it all.

"Electivire, Brick Break on Metagross! Houndoom, get going!"

Tucker followed up immediately. He'd clearly been waiting on the opportunity, just like Paul had suspected.

"Time to bring down the curtain! Salamence, one final Earthquake!"

The scene was chaos. Everything was happening at once. Houndoom had sprinted away in no particular direction from the incoming Bullet Punch, which Metagross hastily turned into a Protect as Electivire blurred towards it from behind and chopped down viciously at its iron body. Meanwhile, Salamence was plummeting for the ground at high speed once again.

* * *

"Time to bring down the curtain! Salamence, one final Earthquake!"

It was almost over. Tucker had been successful in outmanoeuvring Brandon's offspring from almost the very start of the battle. And he hadn't even had to use his best combination, the one which Salamence and Metagross were famous for.

To give the boy credit though, Paul had fought a good battle. Not quite the standard Tucker had hoped, but he might have even have scraped a victory from him had Tucker been using any of his less powerful partners.

But it seemed he wasn't going down without a struggle though. Paul was unwavering in his next command.

"Houndoom, intercept Salamence! Thunder Fang!"

And his Pokémon didn't look like they were defeated just yet either. In fact, at the command, Houndoom was turning its initial retreat into a full gallop around the edge of the raised battlefield towards the patch of ground his Salamence was aiming for at a speed that quite startling.

Tucker frowned a little as he reconsidered. Houndoom had to be weakened considerably after taking two super effective hits, plus multiple Bullet Punches. An Earthquake would almost certainly be enough to finish it, perhaps even Electivire too, and Salamence would easily reach the ground before Houndoom reached Salamence.

But on the other hand, if he was wrong and Houndoom somehow survived another Earthquake, then Salamence would be completely vulnerable on the ground and easily open to a counter-attack. Salamence's biggest advantage in this battle was its ability to fly after all. Electivire had already nearly caught it once, Tucker would not let that happen again.

But this was Houndoom, not Electivire. Salamence was far better equipped to fight Paul's hound. It would be safer to deal with the dark type directly. And with Electivire busy dealing with Metagross now, it was too far away to bail its team-mate out this time.

"Salamence, Aerial Ace at Houndoom!"

Instead of aiming for the floor, Salamence curved round in a long sweeping arc. White light rebuilt around its body as it levelled out a few metres from the ground. Houndoom kept charging forward straight at it, elemental energy now dripping from its jaws. The two Pokémon were now respectively flying and sprinting at each other.

The distance between the two narrowed. Twenty metres. Fifteenth metres. Ten. Tucker swept a hand forward excitedly. It seemed like an exact repeat of the first time.

"Now, finish it with Brick Break!"

"Houndoom, jump!"

* * *

The crowd was shocked into silence. Salamence's eyes widened. Its surprise was understandable. One moment, its target had been right in front of it. The next moment it had vanished.

"It's above you!" Somebody screamed from somewhere high up in the stands.

Mid-flight, Salamence rolled over belly up to face the lights beaming down from the ceiling. Only something was blocking that light. Houndoom was now in the air above the dragon type, glaring down at its adversary below as it began to fall back down.

"Salamence, Brick Break!" Paul heard Tucker cry out again. The Dome Ace looked as stunned at the surprising move as his Pokémon had been. He'd obviously been expecting a head on attack.

But there was just a hint of a smile returning to his face.

Paul had just made a fatal error after all. It had been a nice dodge of the initial fighting type attack, but there was no way for Houndoom to continue to evade Salamence now it was in the air. One super-effective Brick Break would almost certainly be enough to knock it out, and by extension, Houndoom's defeat would probably decide the match. Electivire was too far away to help. No matter what way anyone looked at it, Houndoom was, well, doomed.

But even knowing all this, Paul felt calm.

Got you!

"Houndoom..." The Sinnoh trainer waved an arm. "Sucker Punch!"

What happened next was impossible for any human eye to follow. One second Houndoom had been above Salamence, baring its teeth. Salamence was upside down beneath it, only a foot off the ground, with one of its claws gleaming bright white again.

And the next second...

Houndoom was standing atop a dazed-looking dragon on the floor.

* * *

The Dome was silent. No one could even understand how it had happened. It defied logic. Houndoom hadn't moved fast, it had simply fazed out of view. Teleported itself the short distance in-between it and its opponent and slammed it into the ground before Salamence had been able to even begin its swing.

From his trainer podium across the other end of the battlefield, Tucker stared with eyes wide and a mouth agape as his mind struggled to understand what had just taken place. Sucker Punch. A dark type move that was guaranteed to hit any opponent first, should that same opponent be using an attacking move.

Houndoom threw back its head and howled in triumph.

Paul's Houndoom knew Sucker Punch?! He'd held it back all this time?

Amazing.

However, it didn't seem Paul was done just yet.

"Don't rest! Thunder Fang!"

Houndoom plunged its head back down and sank its crackling teeth into Salamence's neck before the latter could react. Salamence roared in agony, then suddenly seeming to retake command of its body, burst upwards, sending the dark type flying. But Houndoom's electric grip refused to yield, even as Salamence drew itself fully upright on the battlefield floor and shook its scaly head vigorously, sending the dog flailing from side to side.

"Get it off you!" Tucker roared, forgetting again about the people watching around him at the sight of his Pokémon's distress. "Brick Break it!"

"Fall back!" came the immediate reply from the other side.

Houndoom instantly let go of Salamence's neck, then with all four legs, pushed itself away from the dragon, leaving it to swipe at empty air. The dark hound landed squarely on all its four feet just out of reach to Salamence's front, snarling atrociously.

"Don't let it escape!" Tucker screeched. "Brick Break!"

"Use Thunderpunch!"

It took Tucker longer than a moment to remember 'Thunderpunch' wasn't a move Houndoom could use. But by then...

SMACK!

Salamence catapulted forward, straight over the top of Houndoom to land in a crumpled heap several metres to its rear. An outstretched yellow fist with black fingers humming with electricity now occupied the place where it had stood only a moment before, still held in place by the Sinnoh challenger's most powerful electric type.

But Salamence was still up. The dragon type stumbled forward, struggling to keep its balance as it hopped from one foot to the other, then spread its wings and flung itself back towards the safety of the roof-

"Thunder!"

-only to scream in pain as powerful surge of lightning finally drilled it straight in the back. The dragon type spasmed in the air, before coming crashing back down to earth only a few more metres further forward.

"Salamence!"

A tense moment followed.

But then, Salamence stirred.

It was slowly climbing back to its feet, Tucker saw with a surge of relief.

It was okay. All dragon types had a certain resistance to electric type moves, even if Salamence's part flying type made it a little more susceptible than some.

But that had been no joke. And it was there and then Tucker suddenly decided he was taking no more chances. He'd given his fans enough of a show to keep them happy. The sight of his powerful dragon taking such a major hit had unnerved him. Suddenly the Dome Ace realised the Pyramid King's youngest offspring could not be underestimated.

"Finish it off!" Paul commanded loudly from the other side of the field. His challenger was trying to capitalise on the moment and seize his chance to take Salamence out of the match while it was still dazed. Without hesitation, both his Pokémon leapt after the downed dragon type, raising fists and opening jaws.

"Bullet Punch Metagross!"

But there was a reason Tucker was the Dome Ace. And he was using his very best team today. Not only his two strongest Pokémon, but his strongest double battle team. His undefeated double battle team.

Metagross and Salamence had been simply fighting their opponents separately so far. It was time to start showing off to the crowd and the Pyramid's son exactly what it meant to see them fight together. And even if by some miracle, Paul managed to surprise him again, Tucker had one final trick still hidden to ensure his victory.

* * *

Paul reacted immediately. He must have been expecting the counter-attack.

His plan had worked perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. If Metagross hadn't used that initial Agility, they might have had time to finish Salamence before the steel type could have come to its partner's aid.

But it had been the perfect moment to use Sucker Punch. He'd have never been able to get that close to Salamence had Tucker known about the move before. And had he given into temptation and used it earlier to try to stop the earlier Brick Breaks, all he would have succeeded in doing is simply knocking Salamence back into the air. Sucker Punch wasn't all that effective against Salamence anyway, and he'd have given away his biggest surprise.

But instead, he waited until Houndoom was positioned above Salamence before calling it out. He'd used it to take Salamence to the ground where both Paul's Pokémon could cut it down.

In a single move, Paul had managed to turn the entire, almost one-sided battle right around.

Scott leaned back in this seat. Phew. It really was a shame in a way that Tucker for one reason or another had brought his fabled ultimate double team out to battle. Any of the others, and the Dome Ace would quite likely be handing out a Tactics' Symbol by now.

Reggie hadn't been kidding. His little brother was good.

But Tucker had never been one to hold back. And now that surprise was gone, there was no way Paul could win. The Dome Ace had yet to reveal exactly why those two Pokémon on field were his strongest creatures, both individually and far more so together, and Tucker himself was one of the greatest tacticians Scott had ever met.

Scott couldn't help but feel a touch annoyed. The boy down there was almost twice as good as his brother Reggie had been at his age, but because of Tucker's lack of self-restraint at learning he was facing the Pyramid King's son, he would quite likely be on the next flight home tomorrow.

"All-right! Way to go!"

The trainer next to him was on his feet, punching the air. Scott couldn't help but chuckle slightly at his antics. He noticed Ash had seemed quite reserved at cheering for the purple-haired trainer at the beginning of the battle, but that had swiftly worn away. According to Reggie, they had been meant to arrive together. Scott wondered what might have happened. But after finding the seat Reggie had booked for the Pallet trainer, it was a simple matter of tracking him down.

His excitement was infectious though. Even though Scott thought he knew what was coming next, he couldn't help but also feel excited at the thought of what Paul might do against it. The Sinnoh trainer definitely hadn't come here to lose after all.

* * *

"Electivire, Protect!" Paul yelled out of pure instinct.

As well as typing, every Pokémon had its strong points and weak points. No Pokémon was universally powerful. For instance, a high attacking power usually came a weak defence. A strong defensive Pokémon usually came with a slower than average speed. Metagross for instance was closer to the latter. In exchange for a mammoth amount natural of attack and defence power, Metagross fell short in the speed category.

Until the moment Tucker had used Agility and simply removed that weakness.

Metagross had been aiming for Electivire, who from its position was closer than Houndoom. The Thunderbolt Pokémon twisted back around and put up its shield just in time, but it was still the equivalent of being hit head on by the Magnet Train at full speed as the Iron Leg Pokémon passed the final distance and smashed one of those iron legs into Electivire's defensive move.

Electivire was taken straight off its feet, taking Houndoom with it as they sailed backwards straight over Salamence to land in a tangled heap of legs, arms and tails back in their trainer's half.

Paul gripped the safety railing of his stand hard as both his Pokémon yet again climbed wearily back to their feet. It seemed Metagross was just as powerful as its team mate, perhaps even more so. A hit from Bullet Punch at that speed wouldn't have looked pretty on either of his Pokémon in their present condition. They'd both taken too much damage already.

They had been so close, Paul cursed silently to himself. Another Thunderpunch or Thunder Fang might have finished off Salamence for good.

Forget about it, Paul told himself sternly.

But still, their efforts hadn't been wasted by a long shot, Paul thought as he looked over to Tucker's flying dragon. Salamence now was shaking like a wounded animal on the battlefield floor, and as he watched it try to struggle back to its feet, it suddenly snarled out in pain once again as bright yellow sparks suddenly shot right across its body.

It was paralysed. After taking three electric attacks in quick succession, it was little wonder.

Perfect.

Salamence so far had relied purely on its speed so far to keep landing attacks. Aerial Ace and Brick Break were both attacks that required Salamence to actually catch its targets. Even Earthquake needed Salamence to hit the ground at a pretty high pace. Assuming its fourth attack was physical too, that meant Salamence was now pretty much dead-weight to Tucker.

But...

Metagross now stood centre-field, in-between its team-mate and Paul's two creatures. For the moment it wasn't moving, but Paul had seen the incredible speed two times Agility had given it. Along with Bullet Punch, it wasn't going to be easy to defeat, and the same trick wouldn't work twice. Sucker Punch wouldn't leave so much as a scratch on Metagross's incredible defence.

But with Salamence now more or less out of the battle, he could now combine both his Pokémon's attacks against it. Protect would only last for so long. And he could always increase Electivire's speed again with Motor Drive if he needed to. For the first time since the beginning of the battle, the Dome Ace truly seemed to be on the back foot.

Quickly Paul decided to keep Metagross at bay for now with some long ranged moves. Houndoom was still powered up by its both its Nasty Plots after all, he reasoned. If he could manage to land one of them, he could very probably take Metagross out in a single hit.

"Houndoom-"

"Salamence, time to climb aboard Metagross!"

...

...What?

Paul couldn't help it. The command died in his throat as he looked over at Tucker in complete bewilderment. What was he trying to do now?

But with a great roar, Salamence suddenly shook free of the lingering sparks and leapt forward, sprawling heavily upon its steel partner's back. The Sinnoh trainer stared at the two Pokémon, one piled on top of the other.

"Now..."

Tucker stretched both his hands to the sky. A wide smile was on his face. The Dome fell into complete silence.

"Fly as one, my glorious creatures! Magnet Fly!"

Paul couldn't make sense of it. A thousand eyes and more stared at the two creatures.

And suddenly, they were gone.

"Where..." Paul began.

"MET-TA!"

The Sinnoh trainer snapped his head up. There hovering up in the air, right by the up-most rafters of the curved roof hovered Tucker's creatures. Metagross, with Salamence still laid on its back. The latter was snarling down at the pair down below.

"Paul!"

Paul was barely even aware of the Dome Ace's call. He outright ignored it in favour of simply staring shell-shocked at the sight above his head.

"Finally we have reached the pinnacle of our match!" It seemed Tucker had simply decided to continue talking without his attention. "Finally you can see the masterpiece of my performance, my ultimate combination! Two creatures, come together, into one indestructible Pokémon! See my life's work! The ultimate double battler!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

"_TUCK-KERR_!"

The crowd was going berserk.

Paul's surroundings seemed to slow down to an almost standstill as he stared endlessly into the sky above. Everything was frozen.

He didn't have the slightest clue what Tucker was planning to do next. But he could tell this new development was bad news for him simply from the sudden supremely confident expression on the opposite man's face. Even Victor was grinning at the sight.

He hadn't put Tucker on the back foot at all. This obviously wasn't some last minute inspiration. Tucker had clearly planned out whatever strategy he was about to perform before this battle today.

All he'd really achieved was forcing the Dome Ace to go all out. And although Paul didn't know what the Frontier Brain was aiming to do next, one fact was just beginning to dawn on him.

All this meant was for all the battle up to this point, Tucker had been merely playing with him. While Paul had been barely keeping up. And things could be about to get a lot worse.

But he couldn't lose! Not at his very first Frontier challenge!

How the hell had Ash beaten this guy?

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

To be concluded...

Jeez, that was a long chapter. Thanks for sticking with it.

I hope you all enjoyed that. I've made Tucker seem more powerful here than he did in the Anime against Ash, but I hope I've given good enough reasons as to why that is. I'm not gonna give Paul an easy ride against these Frontier Brains.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter (although I ended up re-writing it twice), and I am enjoying writing the next. Anyone who has read my other stories will know I'm a fan of battles. Unfortunately, its a lot harder to write an exciting battle than it is to watch one. And sorry to any Reggie fans out there, these two chapters are gonna be all Paul/Ash. But the answers for Reggie/Brandon are coming soon. Other things in the chapter, like the missed interview at the start, I haven't skipped it because I couldn't be bothered. I have a plan for that which I think will work better after the battle.

One more thing though. As you might have noticed, I only gave each Pokemon four moves. That will stay true for the rest of this fic. They won't always be the same moves, and there'll be scenes with Paul teaching his Pokémon new attacks etc, but they will know no more than four at any one time. Now, I can understand people thinking it's absurd, this isn't the game after all, Pokémon are intelligent creatures. Even my own dog knows more than four commands for example. But in exchange, I think it makes the battles far more interesting, yet easier to follow to have it this way. And besides, the Anime does the same thing, at least during Diamond and Pearl so I'm gonna stay true to that.

As always though, I'd be interested to hear your opinions on the subject.

Mistake Spotler List of Honour

*JJWalker

*Lord Aurastorm

*Flaming Platinum

Thanks guys! Remember, anyone who spots a mistake in this chapter gets mentioned in the next. I actually have high hopes for this one, so bring it on! But if you do find any, please point them out. And do it in a way that makes me laugh if possible. Cheers :P.

A special mention goes out to **reppad98**. See that? I typed you in bold. Seriously though, thank you. You're helped me out a lot with all five chapters so far, and I really appreciate it. You're a great friend, and a great person.

(You're gonna make me regret saying that, aren't you?)

And last but not least, please leave me a review to let me know how good or bad I did with this one. The next chapter, incidentally called 'Playing a Dome Ace', will be out soon. Two weeks tops. Until then, stay safe everyone! :)


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